IBM and Lisbon City Council support the Children of Katrina exhibition

IBM (Portugal), the Lisbon City Council and the law firm Miranda Correia Amendoeira & Associados are among the supporters of ICAF’s “The Children of Katrina” exhibition at the Museum of the City of Lisbon on October 17-29, 2006. The opening reception was on October 16th at 7 pm.

Over 50 artworks created by children directly affected by Hurricane Katrina will be on display. The works originated in primary and secondary schools along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. The exhibition includes images of chaos wrought by Hurricane Katrina and examples of art created with goals beyond chronicling and coping, such as imagining a “safe place” and personification of “Katrina.” Under ICAF’s Healing Arts Program, the children also created “encouragement works” for children elsewhere suffering the consequences of a natural disaster such as the earthquake victims in northern Pakistan.

Mr. Agostinho Pereira de Miranda, chairman of the lawfirm Miranda says: "The children affected by the hurricane Katrina are no longer in our TVs but they are still in our hearts. I honestly believe that, by supporting this ICAF exhibit in Lisbon, we are helping those children while promoting ICAF's Healing Arts Programs. Through these outstanding programs, ICAF has built the reputation of being the leading organization in child art on a truly global scale and, therefore, we are delighted to have the opportunity to support this wonderful project."

“We thank companies like Miranda which have a golden heart and a global mindset. We look forward to our collaboration with Miranda, which will strengthen the bonds of friendship and love between Portuguese children and American children as well as their teachers and parents. We are most grateful to IBM for its support. By bringing technology into an art exhibition, IBM informs children that art and technology are powerful tools that can help develop their full creative potential. We thank the Lisbon City Council, the City Museum of Lisbon, Caran de’Ache of Switzerland, and all sponsors and supporters, especially attorneys João Luís Traça and Francisco Silva Santos, without whose help this amazing exhibition would not have taken place,” said Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, ICAF founder and executive director.

The International Child Art Foundation employs the power of the arts to heal, inspire and unify children across the globe.