‘Communication is the first step toward change. Everything can change.’
– Olafur Eliasson, In his response to Artists for OLPC
During Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach 2007, Luminaire, Design Miami, and Fuseproject were proud to present a charity auction in aid of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).
The brainchild of Nicholas Negroponte, OLPC’s mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education. By giving children their very own connected XO laptop, OLPC is giving them a window to the outside world, access to vast amounts of information, a way to connect with each other, and a springboard into their future. And they also help these countries develop an essential resource educated, empowered children.
Much in the same way that the XO laptop invites children to explore, experiment and express themselves, Luminaire, Design Miami, and Fuseproject invited seven prominent contemporary visual artists to do the same, including David Altmejd, John Baldessari, Olafur Eliasson, Catherine Opie, Jorge Pardo, Ugo Rondinone, Cindy Sherman, and Richard Tuttle.
Asked to treat the laptop as they would a blank canvas, these participating artists have transformed our familiar aesthetic and functional notions of the laptop computer and we believe it is safe to say that the results were nothing short of spectacular.
All proceeds benefited One Laptop Per Child.
Thursday, December 6 - Sunday, December 9, 2007
