Annual Meeting

Stiftelsen Peacepainting hadde årsmøte 9. februar. Møtet ble holdt i Bindal Museum på Terråk. Steinar Hansen gikk ut av styret, og inn kom Aldona Wawrzyniak som tar over som økonomiansvarlig.

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I styret sitter nå: Jens Christian Berg, styreleder, kultur- og informasjonskonsulent i Bindal kommune Aldona Wawrzyniak, økonomikonsulent, Bindal kommune (økonomisk ansvarlig) Bjørn Sørhøy, tidligere direktør for Bindalsbruket, Bindal Tone Toft, kunstnerisk ansvarlig:, kunstner og pedagog, Herøy. Catrine Gangstø, daglig leder, kunstner og pedagog, Bindal.

På bildet daglig leder Catrine Gangstø, som fikk blomster fra styret som takk for innsatsen, og Steinar Hansen som går ut av styret.

Painting from Peacepainting Poland for the Minister of Defense Søreide

Under minnemarkeringen av 75 år siden 2. verdenskrig i Narvik i mai 2015, fikk forsvarsminister Ine Eriksen Søreide overrakt et maleri av to polske ungdommer. Den polske presidenten var også til stede. De to ungdommene var sammen med ordføreren i Proszowice invitert til Narvik. Ungdommene var med på et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom norske og polske ungdommer fra Bindal og Proszowice. Under besøket i Norge hadde de polske ungdommene tema:" Munchs scream-my scream”. De besøkte Munch-museet i Oslo, og bildet ble malt på Bindalseidet på et maleverksted i 2014.

Forsvarsminister Søreide med maleri fra Peacepainting

Forsvarsminister Søreide med maleri fra Peacepainting

Dolna Banya and Sofia

A project has been launched in collaboration with an orphanage for Roma children and a foundation in Bulgaria called "Avocado". A fund will be created for higher education for the children. After the age of 18, they are no longer under the protection of the government in the country and they have to move from the orphanage. Most people end up in misery with begging, stealing, drugs and prostitution. What may be of security and self-confidence after the years in the orphanage, gradually gets little or no nourishment…

The aim of the fund is to make it available for an education in art - not only painting but also music and other art studies. Finding a way in life through art is in accordance with understanding. Because it gives us contact with the emotions, and true understanding depends on this contact. The mechanisms in the brain appear to be designed this way. Art will then be a good tool for being able to take advantage of the possibilities of a holistic life where self-care and empathy are equal, or put another way: two sides of the same coin. Artists from Nordland took part in the first event. Espen Tversland from Brønnøysund, Anne-Britt Ravnå from Mosjøen, Lill-Anita O. Svendsen from Leknes, Bård Vatnan from Korgen, Randi Størseth from Trondheim, in addition to Catrine Gangstø and two children from Bindal - a total of 8 pieces.

This was financed through EEA funds and administered by the "Avocado" foundation. It is relatively new and run by young people who are employed in the gas industry, but who feel a nagging uneasiness about the ever-increasing difference in living standards for different groups. This is a trend we have noticed in many countries - more and more young people want to work in companies that take a significant social responsibility, or they have the drive to start their own businesses in addition to the well-paid job, as is the example with « Avocado »

We had an unforgettable week in Dolna Banya with real, original and not least unexpected ingredients where lots of humor and lots of seriousness took place! We are very pleased that Peacepainting was able to help trigger public funding for this very interesting initiative.

We wish "Avocado" good luck!


Peacepainting held workshops for Romani children in Bulgaria in cooperation with the non-profit foundation AVOCADO. The foundation AVOCADO is a non-profit NGO based in Sofia, Bulgaria and aims to develop society by enhancing local communities.

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The project "Inclusion of vulnerable groups through the integration of young people in the arts" was implemented with financial support from the EU program for NGO BULGARIA, and was realized on the 24th -29th of March 2015. More information about the program can be found here: www.eeagrants.org and www.ngogrants.bg

Upon completion of the project, where 8 guests from Norway and 8 representatives from Bulgaria participated, a painting workshop was conducted with children from the orphanage "Home for Children Without Parents K. Liapcheva" in Dolna Banya.

The project was aimed to provide awareness of social problems and offer development opportunities for youth. Vulnerable children were also given the opportunity to develop their potential and gain new horizons for development through the integration of art.

Collaborations in 2015

Peacepainting vil våren 2015 delta i flere samarbeidsprosjekter. I mars reiser Catrine Gangstø sammen med fire kunstnere og en filmarbeider til Bulgaria for å holde maleverksted i et barnehjem for rombarn.

I mars skal det være maleverksted i Mosjøen. Her skal barn og eldre male sammen, som en aktivitet i "Den kulturelle spaserstokken".

I april reiser Catrine Gangstø, en kunstner og en filmarbeider til Filippinene. Der skal Peacepainting i samarbeid med Brobyggerstiftelsen i Sandnessjøen besøke et senter for gatebarn. Det blir besøk i Tacloban og i Manila. Det blir møte med PNBC - Philippines Norway Business Council, og med lokale myndigheter og den norske ambassaden.

I begynnelsen av juni blir det gjenvisitt fra Polen. Om lag 50 ungdommer fra skoler i området rundt Krakow i sørlige Polen besøker Hattfjelldal og Herøy på Helgeland. Tidligere har ungdom fra Bindal besøkt Proszowice to ganger, og ungdom derfra har vært i Bindal.

I juli blir det ny tur til Bulgaria, denne gangen til hovedstaden Sofia, der organisasjonen SPOC driver prosjekter som skal fremme toleranse og respekt.

Renewed support from Nordland County Municipality

Press release from Nordland County Municipality: Nordland County Municipality has granted 300,000 kroner to the foundation Peacepainting in Bindal for further development of their international commitment within art and peacekeeping for children and youth. County executive for industry, Arve Knutsen, says that a considerable amount of work has been done with the development of Peacepainting, and this stands as a unique idea with a global perspective.

Catrine Gangstø is managing director of the foundation. She had the idea that painting can be used as therapy for children and youth. Contact has been established with a number of countries. As part of the business model, pictures are presented that the children have made, via exhibitions in public places.

The county executive says that so far the work has shown that applicants have received a response which can be grounds for them to take it a step further. This can be a basis to establish and develop a physical centre for the work which can offer courses and accommodation.

- “The gain for Bindal lies in that a whole new business is established in the municipality with some competence-based internationally-looking workplaces. A competence-based business in Bindal can in this area also obtain a grant from internationally-looking programmes,” says Arve Knutsen.

Peacepainting is introduced as a means and concept for relief work of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Red Cross and United Nations in terms of international assignments which demand psychosocial efforts.

“The foundation will use the funds to work to secure permanent operation of the organisation, such that it can continue to work with different projects,” says Catrine Gangstø.

Peterson Packaging sponsors a project together with Peacepainting

Peterson Packaging sponsors a project together with Peacepainting, August 2014. Children over the whole world got the chance to express their feelings with colour with the organisation Peacepainting. Peacepainting organises intuitive painting workshops for children and youth – such that they can express themselves through a language without speech. Peterson Packaging in Ranheim supports the project by contributing strong boards which the children paint on. As thanks for our contribution we were presented with a painting by managing director Catrine Gangstø.

Exhibition in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Department for the United Nations, Peace and Humanitarian Affairs.

Pictures painted by children in Tunisia and Norway were changed out with pictures painted by children from the Skolt Sami project carried out in Norway – Finland – Russia and a picture from the project in North Korea.

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utstillingud-motiv-felles

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utstillingud-gruppe

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skoltesamisk-maler