Airports to Freedom Campaign

Airline Ambassadors is proud to be a part of the Airports to Freedom Campaign raising awareness of human trafficking. Kay Chernush and Kristin Muzzy were recently in Las Vegas and spoke about the project.

Nancy Rivard and Ashley Woods were also interviewed by the Melissa Sabantine of the American Association of Airport Executives and AAAE is helping to promote the opportunity to airports in the US. See below:

The intention of this campaign is to reveal the hidden world of human trafficking and modern slavery to as large an audience as possible, and to provide people with an opportunity to make a difference themselves. Airports and airlines are often used by traffickers, and thus can play a crucial role in amplifying our message and providing opportunities for travelers to engage in the process of ending human trafficking and modern slavery.

“Given the interactive elements of the installation and the presence of powerful video imagery and sound, we expect there to be extremely high audience interest and participation.” – Ashley Woods, Programs and Operations Manager, ArtWorks for Freedom.

Taking into consideration that on average travelers have between 60-90 minutes free-time before embarkation, we expect the total estimated viewing experience of the entire installation and films to be around 20 minutes: sufficient time to understand and interact with the installation. Each film will last approximately one minute and present an individual survivor’s story. In most cases the people being filmed would be survivors themselves. Pastor Donna Hubbard [#4], herself a survivor of human trafficking who works as a flight attendant for American Airlines, will introduce each story: “I am Donna Hubbard and I AM a survivor of human trafficking. The story you are about to listen to is real. Afterwards you will be given the opportunity to help us end this awful practice once and for all.”

Each partner airport is asked to host the installation for at least 3 weeks and to work with ArtWorks for Freedom and its partners in promoting the campaign’s message through print and digital channels.

Importantly we aim to work with a leading university in developing a creative educational syllabus and teacher’s guide that will be freely available on an existing online platform. Such creative tools will facilitate active dialogue and engagement with students in the United States as well as other countries where human trafficking and modern slavery are omnipresent. In addition we will establish an independent advisory committee composed of representatives from leading national and international NGOs and institutions as well as actual survivors, to provide valuable opinion and perspectives, study issues, and develop recommendations.

To manage this exciting new initiative, ArtWorks for Freedom has hired Ashley Woods,  a renowned independent curator and producer with 15 plus years experience working on similar art-based projects with Nobel Peace Laureates and particularly the Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, where Ashley’s new exhibit, A Right to Freedom–Martin Luther King, Jr., is being shown. Ashley’s position with ArtWorks for Freedom will be as Programs and Operations Manager. Sanne Kroon [#6], an ArtWorks for Freedom board member, will act as European Liaison. Meanwhile Kay Chernush will remain as President. Other principals are Lee Rosner, Treasurer; Helen Frederick, Curatorial Consultant; and David C. Rubenstein (Thoughtful Action Consulting), Advisor

B. [#] PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED (STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS TBD)

[#1) ArtWorks for Freedom https://artworksforfreedom.org/about-us ArtWorks for Freedom is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that was founded in 2011 by the respected D.C. based artist, educator and humanitarian Kay Chernush [#3]. Since then the organization has established itself as a central provider of powerful art and creative services that play an important role in the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery. So far over one million people have seen and participated in various ArtWorks for Freedom events around the world. www.artworksforfreedom.org

WHAT WE BELIEVE Art can play a crucial role in bringing an end to a problem of epidemic proportions that affects over 40 million people worldwide. Art has no language or social barriers. It appeals to both the heart and the imagination. It has the power to illuminate this difficult subject and transform misconceptions. For victims of trafficking and modern slavery, art serves as both a channel for personal expression and healing. Here is a recent video of Kay Chernush and Kristen Muzzy in Las Vegas

WHAT WE DO – We provide a unique arts platform offering all forms of visual and performing arts that address modern day slavery for use by grass-roots organizations, business and civil society associations, educational institutions and others. – We initiate community-led projects and campaigns that bring together local, national and international partner organizations as well as developing specific (print and digital) materials that motivate and empower the viewer to take action. – We seek out and nurture artists’ work that doesn’t stigmatize, titillate, judge or re-exploit the very people we want to help. Art that brings to life the stories behind data, reports and panel discussions. – We offer our partners the possibility of working with artists and trafficking survivors to strengthen their anti-trafficking marketing and communication tools. – We provide creative advice and expertise to individuals and organizations fighting human trafficking, introducing them to new methods and avenues of communication that are specifically designed to reach a targeted audience. – We develop educational tools with specific age-groups in mind, that can be used creatively both in the classroom and outdoors when engaging with an exhibition or installation. This includes the design of mobile apps and interactive “chat bots.”

[#2] Airline Ambassadors International https://airlineamb.org/test/about-us Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization affiliated with the United Nations and recognized by the U.S. Congress. It began as a network of airline employees using their pass privileges to help others and has expanded into a network of students, medical professionals, families and retirees who volunteer as “Ambassadors of Goodwill” in their home communities and abroad. It provides a way for members to share their unique skills and talents to care for others and bring compassion into action. AAI provides for children and families in need as well as relief and development to under-privileged communities worldwide. We escort children in need, hand-deliver humanitarian aid to orphanages, clinics, and remote communities, and educate and advocate on Child Protection.

[#3] Kay Chernush Kay is an award-winning photographer with more than 30 years experience in commercial and fine art photography. In 2005, an assignment for the U.S. State Department brought her face to face with the evils of human trafficking and modern slavery. Challenged and appalled by this human rights atrocity, Kay began working with individual survivors and anti-trafficking organizations in cities around the world. She developed an innovative approach, using collaged and constructed imagery that dignifies trafficked persons and re-frames how their stories are portrayed. To broaden the scope of her project, Kay founded ArtWorks for Freedom in 2011, to use the power of art in all its forms to fight modern slavery.

{#4] Pastor Donna Hubbard Donna is the firstborn child of the late author and Community Arts Activist Nayo Watkins and Charles “Charlie” Hubbard. After being gang raped her life became a series of abandonment, abuse, addiction, gang crime, exploitation, prostitution and violence. She was sold to a pimp, trafficked and finally became gang property. Donna served a total of 10 years in and out of jails and prisons. Paroled in 1993 to Atlanta, Georgia she founded the Woman at the Well Transition Center. To date the center has provided training, counselling, and direct services to over 6000 formerly incarcerated women and girls, including street intervention with trafficked girls and women, relapse prevention and employment readiness. https://airlineamb.org/test/donna-hubbard

[#5] Helen Frederick Helen is recognized as a distinguished artist, curator, educator, coordinator of international projects. As an advocate for and an active participant in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area arts scene, she has served on the directorial boards of alternative art spaces, various local and national boards and national peer-review panels. She is the founder of Pyramid Atlanta a 501(c)(3) non-profit contemporary arts center dedicated to the creation and appreciation of hand paper-making, printmaking, digital arts, and the art of the book. Her own work has been exhibited at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, Japan, and is in collections of the Whitney Museum and Brooklyn Museum in New York, the National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., among many others. She is a Board Member of ArtWorks for Freedom.

[#6] Sanne Kroon Sanne heads HandicapNL’s Partners and Portfolios Department that promotes the rights and wellbeing of physically and mentally disabled people. As a highly experienced spokeswomen, advocate and strategist on trafficking issues, Sanne has occupied numerous senior positions with NGOs and INGOs including: Corporate Partnership Manager at Red Cross Netherlands; Manager for Communications and Campaigns at PLAN Netherlands; Campaign Coordinator at Amnesty International, Lobbying, Communications and Press Manager at Bonded Labour (now FairWork), a major Dutch counter-trafficking organization and Head of Corporate Partnerships Department for the National Food Bank, an organization of 160 food banks in the Netherlands. Sanne is also Founder, Director of the NGO consultancy platform LinkKid and a Founding Board Member of ArtWorks for Freedom.

[#7] Ashley Woods Ashley is an internationally recognized exhibition curator, art director and producer. His latest exhibit A Right to Freedom-Martin Luther King, Jr., is on display at the Nobel Prize Museum, Stockholm, until September 2019. Previous exhibitions include Making Peace that has so far been presented in 13 major cities around the world and The Nuclear Dilemma that he co-produced with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva. Following many years of living in South East Asia, Ashley is committed to supporting NGOs and other non-profit organizations and networks, in advocating for human rights and sustainable development. Ashley is today based in Atlanta where he is part of the organizing team for the 2020 Atlanta World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. https://ashleywoods.com