GOODWILL THE POWER OF ART Arete Arts is a remarkable new charitable venture that aims both to support African artists as well as contribute to environmental and social causes // By Claire Wrathall JAN KOENIG LEARNING YOUNG Children in La Palais de Lomé gardens look over a bronze sculpture by the Togo-born artist Amouzou Amouzou-Glikpa IT WAS AS colleagues, passionate about conservation, that Emilia Keladitis and Stephanie Sluka first met and discovered their shared love for African art and culture. Professionally, they were focused on funding conservation efforts aimed at protecting African natural habitats and biodiversity. They became friends and together began to discover emerging artists across the African continent, many of them themselves passionate about the environment. Africa is one of the lowest contributors to climate change and yet suffers some of the most dire consequences; drought, famine, flooding. “We believe in the transformational power of the arts” says Keladitis, who is based in Europe but grew up in Botswana. Sluka is American but has been based in Africa for the last 15 years. Both believe that “art is a powerful way to engage people emotionally and deepen the discourse around social and environmental topics”. The intention was to publish a coffee table book on African contemporary art, celebrating African natural landscapes, with all profits going to fund grassroots projects across the continent. But with every conversation, the opportunity to create positive social impact at scale just grew and grew. The result is Arete Arts, “a platform to amplify the voices and messages of contemporary African artists who are passionate about the environment and social justice. Profits support creative initiatives across Africa through a not-for-profit entity – the idea being that commercial profits fund the issuance of small grants of ,000 to ,000 to projects dedicated to advancing environmental and, in time, social causes. Registered as a limited company, the commercial arm, Arete Arts Community aims to raise money through events, private dinners and the sale of their inaugural publication, Afroprophetic: Art transforming minds and 10 NetJets
