UNEARTH

The United Nations has selected the international city of peace and justice The Hague and the Gemeentemuseum to host its photo exhibition ‘UNEARTH’. On the International Day of Peace, mayor Jozias van Aartsen will open the exhibition and a video message in which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be welcoming the viewers to Gemeentemuseum will be shown. Director of the Gemeentemuseum, Benno Tempel, said: “The Hague is the right place to have this exhibition on display. I see it as emblematic of the museum’s international activities, such as the launch of The Vincent Award, an art prize that supports free speech and cultural understanding.”

‘UNEARTH’ is a compilation of nearly 70 years of archival history – photographs, posters, videos and recordings – and celebrates the world body's achievements and challenges in the areas of human rights, development, humanitarian assistance, and peace and security. Earlier, the exhibition was on view at The Gabarron Foundation/Center for the Arts in New York.  The show has been called the UN's “most revealing and broadest iconography exhibition ever assembled.” From 21 September to 9 November, The Hague will display a small selection of this exhibition in GEMBER; the museum café of the Gemeentemuseum’s annex for contemporary and photography shows.

70 years of UN: major global issues
The exhibit’s main curator and head of the UN Television Section Chaim Litewski says the exhibit spotlights major global issues like poverty, gender inequality, environmental sustainability and conflict, and sheds light on almost 70 years of UN work: “If history is the record of the development of human society, this exhibition helps us to comprehend the extraordinary and widely encompassing role the UN has played in shaping human history in the past seven decades.” The personal notes by President Roosevelt of the United States on how to create a United Nations organization are on display, as well as photos of global events. Posters by famous artists like Miro and Keith Haring can be seen in The Hague as well.

International debate
The exhibit takes place in the museum cafe of GEM Museum for Contemporary Art and The Hague Museum of Photography. In the first week of September, GEM also saw the launch of the 2014 edition of The Vincent Award. Benno Tempel said: “The prize exists as a celebration of European art, and serves to highlight the increasing internationalism of art and culture. One of the great things about art is its ability to engage with and reflect society, politics and identity. The Vincent Awards is unique in that it enables artists from across Europe to enter into a discussion about these topics, as well as the future of art. I am immensely proud that the Gemeentemuseum can be a place for this debate, and I cannot think of a more appropriate context for UNEARTH”

‘UNEARTH’ will be on display from 21 September to 9 November 2014 in GEMBER; museum cafe of GEM Museum for Contemporary Art and The Hague Photography Museum. The opening will take place on International Peace Day, 21 September 2014. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will open the exhibition with a personal video message.