Artists for Africa is the story of a group of New Yorkers, who have made possible the conservation of 3,000 sq km of African rainforest by raising over $1 million over the last 25 years. If not for this annual benefit much of the forest in the Eastern Arc Mts would probably be gone by now.

This effort has primarily been led by Carter Coleman, the President of our Board. It is his dedication and perseverance that has brought us to where we are today. Carter’s passion for grassroots community development projects and conservation has attracted people from all walks of life to support Artists for Africa every year.

The event’s biggest supporters are the artists that have been donating their art work every year. Their contributions are the reason we have been able to plant 15 million trees and improve the quality of life of 275,000 people in the Eastern Arc Mts by enabling them to support themselves and their families through sustainable income activities.

We plan to make the 25th Artists for Africa the best benefit we have had so far…And as of now, it is shaping up to be quite an event! We are giving out two New Species Awards:

One to:

Hadeel Ibrahim, the founding executive director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that supports good governance in Africa, the co-chair of the Africa Center in New York, and a director of a number of other organisations working to better human rights and development in Africa and globally. 

And the other to:

Prince Ea, rapper and activist whose “Dear Future Generations: Sorry” video on Youtube went viral in April 2015.

Also, for the first time, we are collaborating with Greenpop and Friends of Usambara Society to expand our reach and fund new programs. Our collaboration with Greenpop has introduced us to Ricky Lee Gordon, well known for his large-scale murals that can be seen in cities all over the world, and who will be creating a piece live during the silent auction.

We hope you will join us for this special anniversary benefit!

Click here to learn more about tickets and sponsorship opportunities available.

The above photograph, Karo Girls, Ethiopia was donated to the auction by Gerald Forster; you can view all the art that will be available for auction and pre-bid online here. 

#artists4africa #earthday2016 #conservation #rainforest