Global Alliance Of Artists

ABOUT US

MISSION

The Global Alliance of Artists, Inc. (“GAA”) is an emerging nonprofit organization that seeks to utilize artists and creativity inherent in communities to help solve social challenges on a local, national and international level. Artists are too often marginalized in mainstream society—when in fact, their visionary outlook should be applied.

VISION

Throughout history and around the world, artists have had a key role in impacting society whether through changes in corrupt governments to improved workers’ rights to better living conditions for the poor. The Velvet Revolution of 1989 that took place in the former Czechoslovakia and was initiated by a group of artists including the playwright Vaclav Havel is one example.

Our world is suffering. War has broken out in many countries. AIDS is ravaging many countries. Women continue to be denied their basic rights. Minorities in communities throughout the world are threatened. Global warming and other environmental threats are continuing. Cultural standards in countries such as the United States are eroding. We believe one of the underdeveloped resources that can help correct some of these challenges is creativity—both that of the individual and society collectively.

Working with American and international artists across disciplines, as well as individuals, organizations and corporations, Global Alliance of Artists will present exhibits, conduct community workshops, and sponsor special events and programming using the talents and creativity of the professionals involved as well as the resources of the selected community or target population.

While some events may be purely educational or with the purpose of raising awareness of a pressing issue, others may also generate revenue for a particular cause pre-determined by the GAA staff and community representatives.

Some examples of GAA generated events for the next two years will include a National Young American Summit, a comprehensive civic education website, a financial literacy workshop for marginalized Arab and Arab-American women and an art exhibit focusing on the environment. Future projects will be more international in scope—working with artists and communities in India, Pakistan, South Africa and the Czech Republic. Plans are currently being made to open offices in both Eastern Europe and South Asia.

HISTORY

Global Alliance of Artists was formed September 6, 2006 at the Fine Arts Building Gallery in Chicago, IL.

Inspired by the role of artists in her mother’s country (the Czech Republic) and concerned about the turmoil going on in her birth region (the Middle East) as well as other countries in the world, Dina Rabadi approached Andrea Harris, Hanadi Abukhdeir and Imrana Khera, who shared similar concerns about starting the Global Alliance of Artists. A few weeks later, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago agreed to partner with GAA on their first event taking place during the Federal Reserve 2007 Money Smart Week.

STAFF/BOARD

Dina Rabadi
Executive Director
www.DinaRabadi.com
Born in Jordan in 1974 to a Jordanian father and a Czech mother; Rabadi and her family immigrated to the United States in 1978. A graduate of Smith College, Rabadi has been published in over 20 periodicals including The Boston Globe, Fiction, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times. Recently, she was made a Fellow in the Arts by the Woodhull Institute of Ethical Leadership and received a Vogelstein Foundation writing grant for travel to Jordan to conduct field research for her next novel. She was recently a writer-in-residence at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the Oregon Coast supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. She now teaches writing at a Chicago Public School.

Andrea Harris
Director
www.AndreaHarris.com
Educated at the School of the Art Institute Chicago, Andrea is a visual artist, curator and writer. Her paintings are exhibited in public venues, museums and galleries and have been considered influential regarding humanitarian and environmental efforts. Harris’ artwork centers on nature and humanity, embracing our cultural role as elements of society. Andrea is among a select group of artists that was recently awarded a design project, “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cool Planet.” Her “design” to solve global warming will be displayed in summer of 2007 along Chicago’s lakefront. To this point, Harris will continue to feature her art in an effort to raise awareness and financial support for humanitarian and environmental concerns.

Hanadi Abukhdeir
Director
Hanadi Abukhdeir, an Arab-American, was born to Palestinian parents who immigrated to United States in the 1960s. She grew up in Chicago, and attended college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne where she received a B.S. in Biology. She went on to receive a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. She is currently a Project Manager at the University of Chicago Hospitals working on various strategic planning projects. She is an active member of the Arab community volunteering with the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Arab Affairs.

Imrana Khera
Director
Imrana Khera is the Program Officer for Asian American Programs at the Asia Society. She has extensive experience in the areas of: community advocacy and organizing; international development; public policy; and arts and culture. After completing internships with the State Department and on Capitol Hill, she worked on international women's rights and children's rights issues at CEDPA, UNICEF, and the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. After September 11th, she began increasingly concerned about the human rights of individuals living in the U.S., and began to organize and advocate on behalf of immigrants living in the greater NYC area. As the Program Manager at SAALT, she cultivated relationships with community leaders and organizations who work with the South Asian community in the area of civil rights. Imrana holds a B.A.in Government from Smith College, and a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University. The daughter of parents who immigrated from Multan, Pakistan to Painted Post, New York, Imrana now resides in Manhattan. Imrana currently volunteers with Muslim Advocates and the Indo-American Arts Council.

THANK YOU

Special thanks to:
--Robert C. (“TJ”) Thurston of Thurston Law Offices, P.C. for his volunteer work on behalf of GAA
--David David Katzman for championing our cause
--Elliot Meitzler for building our site
--Linda Rabadi Fair, Project Coordinator at the Experimental Music Center, for her conceptual feedback and continual support
--Corrina Chase, Salmon River Watershed Council (Oregon)
--Josef Zak, Test Centre Technical Manager, VUKV a.s. (Prague, CZ)