Amazing week at Pace Gallery! Artists for Peace and Justice gathered close friends from the art world and Hollywood to open the second edition of FIERCE CREATIVITY, a four-day selling exhibition featuring work from 45+ leading contemporary artists who are committed to extraordinary impact. Curated by Chuck Close and Jessica Craig-Martin, every piece of artwork in the collection is poised to change lives: 100% of proceeds from the exhibition will benefit Artists for Peace and Justice.

View the entire FIERCE CREATIVITY catalogue online and visit the exhibition in person October 22-25, 2014 on view at New York City’s Pace Gallery.

Guests included APJ Board Member Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, Catherine Keener, Sting & Trudy Styler, Griffin Dunne, Josephine Meckseper, Yvonne Force Villareal, Fabiola Beracasa-Beckman, Casey Fremont Crowe, Charlotte Kidd, Peter Tunney, Agnes Gund, Nemo Librizzi, Loan Chapanol, Max Osterweis, Michael Avedon, Matilde Carli, Nicholas Graham, Vikram Chatwal, Lex Fenwick, Marc Glimcher, Stacy Engman, Julian Lethbridge, Gabriella Wright, Carter Lay, Jackson Rathbone, Jody Durst, Chelsea Seltzer and Theo Rosenblum, and Tali Lennox among many others.

Says FIERCE CREATIVITY curator Jessica Craig-Martin, “It would not have been possible for me to ask people to contribute if I did not believe in the effectiveness of Artists for Peace and Justice and in the new template it brings to the charity world. These artworks are the fuel for a simple but powerful weapon: education. It is a cause that I believe all artists should be involved in, as there are none of us who could refute every child’s right to a good and free education.”

We’re thrilled so many talented friends are joining us in New York City next week to celebrate FIERCE CREATIVITY, running October 22-25, 2014 at Pace Gallery.

“The spirit of Artists for Peace and Justice is more alive than ever, APJ began in my living room years ago with a different group of artists: writers, actors, and activists from the Hollywood community who stepped up to stand in solidarity with Haiti by committing their time and money for change. FIERCE CREATIVITY adds a whole new family of artists to the movement.”

With 100% of proceeds from the exhibition benefitting Artists for Peace and Justice, each piece of artwork in the collection is poised to change lives. APJ would like to highlight eight of the forty five participating artists who have united for action by generously donating a major artwork to our collection. Curated by Chuck Close and Jessica Craig-Martin, discover works below by the curators themselves, plus Damien Hirst, Michael Craig-Martin, Adam McEwen, Jackie Saccoccio, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Zhang Huan.

“It would not have been possible for me to ask people to contribute if I did not believe in the effectiveness of Artists for Peace and Justice and in the new template it brings to the charity world,” says FIERCE CREATIVITY curator Jessica Craig-Martin.  These artworks are the fuel for a simple but powerful weapon: education. It is a cause that I believe all artists should be involved in, as there are none of us who could refute every child’s right to a good and free education.”

View the entire catalogue here and join us next week in New York City for FIERCE CREATIVITY at Pace Gallery. Exhibition open October 22-25, from 10:00am-6pm.

Happy October! We’re excited to announce that the Academy for Peace and Justice has officially opened for Fall 2014 with 2,600 students, bringing us even closer to our goal of serving 3,000 students by 2016. On our latest trip to the Academy of Peace and Justice, Headmaster Antoine Edy, shared with us why he is so excited for this new school year:

“When I go back to school I am very happy. The most exciting thing is seeing all the kids, especially the new faces!”

Antoine Edy has been our Headmaster at the Academy for Peace and Justice since the very beginning, when all we had was a piece of land and a dream to build a free high school for the very poor. Before APJ, Headmaster Edy worked as a Spanish teacher at another secondary school in Haiti that was tragically destroyed by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010.

“We have many very hardworking students.” says Headmaster Edy, and he’s right! APJ schools are excellent. 95% of Academy students passed Haiti’s national exams with flying colors for the past two years in a row!

Headmaster Edy is a positive role model to our students, a friendly face on campus, and central community member.  He believes in the power of education to change a nation—and so do we!

“Please help us to continue to grow as our students grow,” says Headmaster Edy. “Each day discovering the joy and pride that comes with acquiring knowledge. Knowledge that will allow them to truly change their world, to endow them with the dignity and the tools to remake and rebuild their country.”