Highlighting Australia
- As a proudly Australian initiative, we’re excited to showcase a collection of Australian stories, music, tributes and more.
#Notacrime Campaign: A Collection of Street Art (Part 3)
June 22, 2017, in Images > Visual Arts, by Sonjel VreelandWith the recent premiere of Changing the World, One Wall at a Time, a documentary that details the world’s largest street art campaign, we thought we’d share more images of some of the amazing murals that adorn different corners of the world. This street art for education equality campaign, titled Education is Not a Crime, or #Notacrime, aims to raise awareness of the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran, and in particular, their denial to access forms of higher education.
Nasim is a 29-year-old Iranian woman, an art student and photographer, and a Baha’i. The Australian artist Rone painted this portrait of her on the side of the Storefront Academy at Park Avenue and 129th Street in Harlem. Nasim was a student in the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education – the “underground university” that Baha’is created in Iran, because they’re banned from higher education – when, in 2009, Iran erupted into days of protests over the rigged reelection of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Nasim was out taking photos when she was arrested and briefly detained by the authorities. She was held for a few days and government agents tried to force her to falsely confess that she and other Baha’is were responsible for the protests – she refused. Nasim was released but she decided to leave Iran. Today she is completing her art studies at UC San Diego.
“How can we let such a human rights violation exist in today’s world? How can we have not realised that the suffering of one is the suffering of all?” Ricky Lee Gordon’s piece – his second for the Not A Crime campaign, after his mural in Cape Town, South Africa – launched the campaign’s 2016 series of murals across Harlem in New York City. His idea of “Gentle Hearts” – the young people whose rights have been violated, in Iran and anywhere – resonated with community members and with George Faison, owner of the Faison Firehouse Theatre, on which the mural was painted.
Franco “the Great” Gaskin is a Harlem legend. He has painted murals and roll-down gates across the neighbourhood – especially on 125th Street – for 30 or 40 years. His piece for the Not A Crime campaign, a message of education equality for people of all backgrounds, was a landmark for the project; a local celebrity helping raise awareness about the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran.
#Notacrime is an initiative of Maziar Bahari, an Iranian Canadian journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist, who although not a Baha’i himself, feels that the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran (Iran’s largest religious minority) is emblematic of many of the problems the country faces. You can read our interview with Maziar about Changing the World, One Wall at a Time here, or listen to his conversation with Rainn Wilson on our blogcast.
You can also take a look at our two other galleries of #Notacrime street art: here is the link to Part 1 and here is the link to Part 2.
For more information about #Notacrime, check out their website or you can follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Posted by
Sonjel Vreeland
In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.
Related Content
Discussion 2 Comments
Leave a Reply
"*" indicates required fields
Join activities, celebrations, study groups, spiritual empowerment and education programs for young people, and more.
Horizons is an online magazine of news, stories and reflections from around individuals, communities
and Baha’i institutions around Australia
Baha’i beliefs address essential spiritual themes for humanity’s collective and individual advancement. Learn more about these and more.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia.
We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their cultures; and to elders both past and present.
Baha’i Blog is a non-profit independent initiative
The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent authoritative views of the Baha’i Faith.
Visit the site of the
Australian Baha’i Community
and the Baha’i Faith Worldwide
I am very impressed from the pictures under the topic “Notacrime” Is it possible to use these pictures for noncommercial purposes? (I live in Germany)
kind regards
Jörg
Jörg Weidemann (June 6, 2023 at 5:18 PM)
Hi Jörg, Thanks for your question. If you would like to use these images, please reach out to the team at #NotaCrime directly via their social media platforms listed at the bottom of this post. Thanks for asking!
Sonjel Vreeland (June 6, 2023 at 9:20 AM)