Fernando Botero joins campaign for human rights in Colombia with new tapestry

Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero and his artist wife, Sophia Vari will, on Monday 18 September, attend the ‘taking off the loom’ ceremony of a new tapestry by the artist commissioned by Art for Amnesty to raise awareness on the state of human rights in Colombia.

The twenty square metre tapestry, ‘The Musicians’, woven over the past several months by artisan weavers at Ateliers Pinton, was commissioned by Art for Amnesty on behalf of Amnesty International to promote the human rights of millions across Colombia.

The formal ceremony will take place at the Atelier Pinton factory in Felletin, France.

It will be unveiled in Bogota in October of this year.

This will be the first Aubusson tapestry by Botero who now joins a long line of the great contemporary artists to have their work translated into tapestry at the famous Ateliers Pinton.

“For many years, artists such as Fernando Botero have powerfully expressed the suffering and hopes of millions through their art. We are incredibly grateful to him for joining our efforts to ensure the historic peace agreement is more than words on paper and helps deliver justice for all in Colombia,” said said Bill Shipsey, Founder of Art for Amnesty.

This is the second time Fernando Botero collaborates with Amnesty International.

Forty years ago the artist was part of the “Artists for Amnesty” exhibition to mark the ‘Year of the Prisoner of Conscience’ with his painting ‘el generalissimo’. Later that same year, 1977, Amnesty International won the Nobel Peace Prize

Art for Amnesty is a global community of artists of all disciplines and nationalities who share Amnesty International’s vision of a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.

Since 2012, Art for Amnesty has unveiled a number of large Aterlier Pinton created memorial tapestries in honour of Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, singer John Lennon and the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, amongst others.