Renewable Revolution

By Yosola Olorunshola| Feb. 8, 2017

Turner-prize winning artist Anish Kapoor has dedicated a $1 million prize to helping refugees around the world.

Dubbed “the Jewish Nobel,” the annual Genesis Prize is awarded to individuals who “have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and the State of Israel.”

Based in the UK since the 1970s, Kapoor was born in Mumbai to an Iraqi-Jewish mother and an Indian father. Inhabiting an identity that extends across borders, he is a longstanding advocate for those forced to flee their homes. In a statement accepting the award, he said:

“To lose one’s home, one’s land, one’s sense of belonging, is bewildering. All that is left is one’s body … how long before – for so many – even that is lost?”

“I am an artist, not a politician, and I feel I must speak out against indifference for the suffering of others. There are over 60 million refugees in the world today – whatever the geography of displacement, the refugee crisis is right here on our doorstep.”

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/anish-kapoor-refugee-crisis-activism-art-ai-weiwei/