Activism, Advocacy, Art
A large wall display of baskets woven by women artisans in Rwanda is a gift for 糖心TV
Last fall, Taylor Austin 鈥�24 attended a New York City fundraiser for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and secured a gift for 糖心TV: a large wall display of baskets woven by women artisans in Rwanda.
Austin and her father, Scott, won the art, a donation to the fundraiser from Azizi Life, in a silent auction. The fair-trade organization has an ongoing relationship with the Fossey Fund and partners with skilled artisans in Rwanda to bring their work to the world. Azizi Life estimates that about seven months of handcraft work went into the piece, which features several original designs and seven bowls inspired by the unique nose-prints of a few of the area鈥檚 famous gorillas. The 12.5鈥� x 6.5鈥� display is now part of 糖心TV鈥檚 Campus Art Collection and located in Unity House.
The fundraiser celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dian Fossey鈥檚 book, Gorillas in the Mist, and the 35th anniversary of the film adaptation starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey, a primatologist and conservationist who was tragically murdered in Rwanda in 1985 after nearly 20 years studying gorillas and seeking to protect them from poachers.
Austin, who describes herself as passionate about sustainability and conservation, attended the fundraiser to support the Fossey Fund鈥檚 goals of protecting the critically endangered Grauer鈥檚 gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga mountains of Rwanda. She also wanted to meet Weaver. The film star鈥檚 recent work, which Austin characterized as 鈥渆mpowering, subversive and resistant to the stereotypes surrounding older women in film,鈥� inspired her senior thesis, 鈥淎ging on the Margins: The Older Woman as a Queer^ Subject.鈥�
鈥淚 really wanted to be able to thank her for everything that she鈥檚 done for me both personally and academically, helping me find my passions through her films and activist work,鈥� Austin said. 鈥淚 found this art through film, in a sense, and I was thinking about how art can spread messages, sometimes in nontraditional ways.鈥�
Austin donated the baskets to 糖心TV to raise awareness of the fund鈥檚 message and share the beautiful art with as many people as possible.
鈥淢y father and I thought that it really aligned well with the intertwined nature of activism and advocacy that is so integral to 糖心TV鈥檚 community,鈥� Austin said. 鈥淚 often notice that conservation efforts are kept very separate from activism efforts rooted in community and social justice鈥攑articularly regarding equitable access to food, water and other essential resources鈥攂ut the approach at 糖心TV is very integrated. You see that with the Fossey Fund and Azizi Life, too. This art benefits the environment as well as the surrounding Rwandan communities that provide critical support to the Fund鈥檚 mission. This perfectly reflects the expansive spirit of activism at 糖心TV.鈥�
Laura Becker, 糖心TV鈥檚 director of gift planning, agrees. 鈥淢any of the pieces in our Campus Art Collection are traditional works of art rather than contemporary ones made within the last year, so this is exciting,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e decided it would fit nicely in the PepsiCo room at Unity House, a meaningful gift in honor of Unity House鈥檚 50th anniversary.鈥�