We Are The Heritage

We are the Heritage is a humanitarian project that was created in collaboration with the Orphanage Bumi, an orphanage sheltering more than 160 children. The Orphanage Bumi is situated in the province of Katanga in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a nation that has been in a constant state of crisis for over a century. Civil war, famine, the HIV pandemic, genocide, and rape culture have left the DRC with one of the highest population of orphans in the world. The goal of We are the Heritage is to give visibility to the orphans who courageously live and conquer abandonment, violence, and famine while regaining their childhood. Fundamental to the project, it was conceived in an effort to find a narrative that demonstrates the fortitude of the orphans, while avoiding the common western tendency of gaining visibility by victimization. In acknowledging art’s power to bridge gaps, generate visibility, and create discourse, I have taken the opportunity to use art for humanitarian purposes. This project’s unique ability to connect a community facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with the rest of the world exemplifies the power of art and unity. The reality is that at the present moment there are 8 million orphans and children at risk in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I wish to create an approach via art which opens a narrative, of truth, strength, and understanding, without representing pity or victimhood. The project Heritage is not just an art project to me. It is a duty I have to the Orphanage Bumi. I grew up in violence, staring during the Iran/Iraq war, arriving in Canada as a refugee, being integrated into street gangs and finally working in war zones. I have the power to create works that force the audience to think outside their normality. With the Heritage, I wish the audience to feel personal about what they see. Not just seeing a suffering child, I wish to see the power of hope. As an artist, I see myself as a translator. I hear cultures who live in violence and then translate it to a global audience.