We have a finalist for the #TOwardTOmorrowcompetition hosted by Toward.2030! We are pleased to announced that the Heliotrope Foundation has selected UK artist Gabriel Pitcher as the winner for SDG #11. Gabriel submitted this portrait of Steve Barnabis, a youth worker in East London who advocates for disadvantaged children without access to mainstream education and safe spaces. Steve’s life work is inspired by his personal experience of losing family to violent crime in London.
From Zahra Sherzad our Board Chair & Judge for SDG #11: Sustainable Cities & Communities: "This painting really grabbed my attention and intrigue. I selected this work for the SDG11 as it represents the idea that art defines a society's culture and history; and that it needs to be inclusive and honestly represented. For centuries, portrait painting was art but by the second half of the 20th century it had almost disappeared. This meant that black portraiture largely did not exist in institutions and museums until recent times. In a time when facts are being manipulated, the act of painting a portrait gives us the truth and there is nothing more necessary, more defiant right now than simply showing life as it’s being lived."
Congrats Gabriel, and best wishes onto the final round of 17!