As the world went into lockdown, artist Sacha Jafri embarked on an extraordinary project to create the largest painting ever on canvas. Revered for his philanthropic nature and history, Sacha Jafri is deemed the world’s most celebrated living artist, for raising over USD$60m from the sale of his art for charity over the last 18 years. Stationed at the Ballroom of Atlantis, The Palm, for weeks, Sacha Jafri now extends his ‘Journey of Humanity’ to children across the globe, aged 2 to 18 years old.
Inviting them to contribute to his cause through sharing their own creative artworks on the themes of connection and isolation, the project which aims to represent each individual’s swirling emotions in light of unprecedented times, and become a guiding light for a better tomorrow, is set to eventually enter the Guinness World Record Books for the ‘Largest Art Canvas’ in the world.
In an effort to give back to those in need, the canvas upon completion will be broken down into 60 individually framed, numbered, signed and catalogued Artwork pieces, scheduled for charitable auction. Sacha Jafri has expressed hope for the ‘Journey of Humanity’ to amass up to USD$30 million, which will be distributed back to the various communities through global educational and health funding.
Specifically, Sacha Jafri aims to target vulnerable communities facing disproportional disadvantage due to circumstances which have existed long before the global pandemic. As a result, the artist intends to direct a majority of the funds obtained toward the scaling up of digital connectivity to ensure equitable access to remote learning for all children and youth in the world. He has also expressed a desire to initiate up to 5000 Life-saving Education and Medical Hubs, for children to access vital education, their necessary three meals-a-day, clean water, medical attention, alongside advice and aid for issues of health and sanitation, life-saving inoculations and vaccinations.
As of now, Sacha Jafri is collecting online contributions, and providing live updates for the ‘Journey of Humanity’ project, through the official Humanity Inspired website.