Art for Atzin

About

Works by Prince Láuder, Vero Villarreals, Carri Fernanda, and Alana Burns among others are available for purchase on The Artsphere’s Instagram, with sales being made through DM. Five new artists will be joining on the 1st of each month, to be announced via our Instagram/website.

The Artsphere, is a new online platform for collecting emerging art, and was co-founded by Ines Hutchinson Uzielli and Samantha Picard, two London-based millennial women working in the art world, who were introduced digitally on Zoom in the beginning of lockdown. Their inaugural initiative, ‘Art for Now. Art for Good.’ raised funds and awareness for Gingerbread Charity, the UK’s leading national charity for single parents. Featuring artists Alexandra Grounds, Riikka Hyvönen, and Sarah Emily Porter among others, it was met with resounding success and gave them the push to continue creating art initiatives focused on women in need.

The idea to support Atzin sprung from the continuing and often not discussed effects of COVID-19 on regions of the world in poverty. Atzin supports the Nahua villagers of Tlamacazapa, where many children are malnourished and most villagers earn a living by weaving palm baskets. Villagers laboriously fetch water from open wells, however, water is now sold. Some families simply cannot afford to buy this. Tlamacazapa constitutes a multi factor situation, laboratory studies have revealed arsenic and lead contamination in water and soil, causing multiple cases of  toxic synergy poisoning to the villagers.

Mexico’s coronavirus cases are also increasing daily and there are no signs of a downward curve. The women and families of Tlamacazapa depend on tourists to buy these baskets for income. However, With no tourism, poor education, household food reserves are now exhausted and food purchases have soared in price. Therefore, Atzin aims to help the vulnerable villagers of Tlamacazapa.