The following individuals and groups are involved in the work of the Iraqi Children's Art Exchange:
Lois Ahrens, founder and director of the Real Cost of Prisons Project. She is an organizer, fundraiser and creator of progressive organizations and programs for more than thirty-five years. She has developed and directed numerous organizations many of which continue to thrive. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Frances Crowe, long-time peace and justice activist; she began her life long journey after the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For many years Frances ran the Western Mass. AFSC from her home in Northampton where she still lives. She is a media activist who struggled for two years to bring Democracy Now! to our local TV and radio stations in the Valley.
Joel Dansky joined the peace movement in the spring of 1961 when he marched from Newark, New Jersey to Jersey City, New Jersey to "ban the bomb." Since then he has been active in local politics in Northampton, Mass., and Middle East peace and justice efforts. He works as Disabilities Services Coordinator at Hampshire College.
Thamir Dawood, is an Iraqi artist, born and educated in Baghdad. He fled with his family from Iraq in 2004, and currently lives in Amman, Jordan. His work has been exibited throughout the Middle East, in Japan and the USA. His web site is at http://thamidawood.com.
Mac Everett has spent his career working with young children. He has been a kindergarten teacher in South Hadley, Massachusetts for the last 18 years. He is a lover of nature and keen observer of the natural world, a class 3/4 kayaker and a writer of Haiku.
Faiza Al-Araji is an Iraqi civil engineer who lived with her husband and three children in Baghdad until 2005 when their son was kidnapped, forcing the family to pay ransom and then flee to Jordan. In Amman, Faiza works with and on behalf of her fellow Iraqis. She helps raise funds for water purification units and medicines for hospitals in Iraq, and for micro projects for poor Iraqi families in Amman. She continues to be an outspoken activist working against the American occupation in Iraq. Faiza has a blog: http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com.
John Goodman has been practicing photogravure since 1976. In 1984 he established Jon Goodman Photogravure, a studio devoted to producing editions in photograpvure for artists, publishers and museums. His work can be found in many public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Bibliotheque National in Paris. Web site: http://jgoodgravure.com.
Majdoline Al-Ghezawi Al-Ghoul and The Dar Al Anda Gallery in Amman are donating the use of their beautiful children's atelier, located at the gallery in Jebel Luwaibdeh, free of charge to ICAE.
A small guest room at the gallery has been made available to ICAE when we are working in Amman. We are very grateful to Majdoline and the Dar Al Anda for their ongoing help and support. Our continued success working on cross-cultural projects with children depends on these partnerships.
Tom Plaut, MD is a pediatric asthma specialist in Amherst, MA and the author of several books on asthma. He is a long time social justice activist and is currently involved with the Progressive Democrats of America.
Art Angels is an anonymous group of women artist and art-lovers in the Pioneer Valley who pool financial resources to support local artists with projects that deepen and enrich the artistic life of this regoin.
The ICAE has been funded through individual donations and grants from the following organizations:
The Puffin Foundation seeks to open the doors of artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy.
The Iraqi Children's Art Exchange was initially a project of the Northampton Committee to Lift the Sanctions Against Iraq which is now the Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq. The Art Exchange continues to be connected to the work of the committee.
