For the past few years, the Illustration Program has been partnering with LiNK, a California-based grass-roots, human rights organization (no religious or political affiliations) which supports North Korean refugees in escaping their country, finding shelter in China and relocating to South Korea or the U.S.. In addition to helping these refugees, LiNK aims to create more international awareness around human rights issues and every day life in North Korea:
http://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org
https://www.facebook.com/libertyinnk
Representatives from LiNK will be visiting the campus for an info session this month. If you’re interested in participating in the project (outlined below), or in just learning more about North Korea, please attend the event:
March 20th, noon
2W 13th street, room 809
This year, we’re creating designs to be printed on LiNK’s promotional t-shirts, which are sold at their events and online, and which support their cause. We are looking for students from any program within AMT who are interested and willing to donate a design, no matter what medium you use: you can submit photographs, illustrations, drawings, paintings, photographed objects or sculptures, and more. Students who participate should understand that they keep the copyright to their images, but will not be compensated, since LiNK is a non-profit organization, and 100% of the sale will go towards rescue and relocation efforts. If your images are chosen to be printed on the t-shirts, your name and web link will be featured on the LiNK website.
The designs can be printed all over the t-shirts, which means that you can think of covering the whole shirt, or just certain areas, and you can also consider the relationship between the front and the back of the shirt – maybe there is an interesting narrative idea that can be applied to the idea of “front versus back”. Students are asked to be experimental and move away from cliched, overused ideas of how such a subject is commonly portrayed. The goal is to emphasize the idea of hope and communicate common human values between Americans, South and North Koreans. LiNK is not looking for images that reinforce negative stereotypes of North Korea, such as caricatures of Jim Jong Un, atomic bombs, or military imagery. Remember: the main goal is to create awareness and understanding on a human level.
Below please find a link to the project brief and technical specs (ignore the word “poster” – we’re working with t-shirts for this project).
This will be an opportunity to learn about North Korea, the most sealed-off country in the world, and to find ways in which we can help create change.
