Chestnut Hill
  • Events
  • Business Directory
  • Explore Chestnut Hill
  • More

    Visitors

    • Directions
    • Parking
    • Walking Tour
    • Group Tours
      • Media Coverage
    • Media Gallery
      • Chestnut Hill Zoom Backgrounds

    Businesses

    • Why Open a Business?
    • How to Open a Business
    • Join the Chestnut Hill Business Association

    Live and Work

    • Housing
    • Jobs
    • Chestnut Hill Life
    • Happenings on the Hill
    • Store
    • About
      • Meet the Staff
    • Sponsors
    • Contact
    • Join Our Newsletter
Return to News

Chestnut Hill Local Article on The Art of the Kalahari at Gravers Lane Gallery

Logo

Hill gallery art will help provide healthcare in Africa

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Contributor

This is one of the many colorful, intriguing pieces of art created by artists in southern Africa and now on exhibit in “Botswana and the Art of the Kalahari,” now at Gravers Lane Gallery, 8405 Germantown Ave., through Feb. 28.

by Sally Cohen

Coinciding with Black History Month, a stunning exhibit of African art, “Botswana and the Art of the Kalahari,” opened Feb. 3 at Gravers Lane Gallery, 8405 Germantown Ave., and will continue through Feb. 28. About 15 percent of the proceeds from sales of the artwork will help provide income to communities in need and support the Botswana-UPenn Partnership (BUP), which helps to provide high-quality healthcare in the Southern African country.

The exhibit emerged from a friendship between Gravers Lane Gallery director Bruce Hoffman and Philadelphia-based fiber artist Cindy Friedman, who has traveled extensively to Botswana with her husband, Harvey M. Friedman, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Botswana-UPenn Partnership (BUP). (An industrial designer and fashion designer, Cindy’s work can be found in gallery exhibitions and private collections around the world.)

As Dr. Friedman built the BUP program in Botswana, Cindy forged relationships in the country’s arts community, particularly in Gaborone, the capital city, where the couple stays. Her friendships at the National Museum of Botswana, Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, Kalahari Quilt Shop and Kuru Development Trust led her to bring the first exhibition of Botswana artwork to the U.S.

Cindy said she was instantly captivated by the vibrant colors used by the indigenous people of Botswana, the Basarwa, also known as “The San,” considered one of the world’s oldest cultures. “The San live in the middle of nowhere in the Kalahari Desert,” she said. “Formerly nomads, the painters who are part of the Kuru Development are now stationary in D’Kar, and their work is incredible.”

She shared her enthusiasm with Gravers Lane Gallery director Bruce Hoffman, who helped select the artwork for this exhibition and designated a portion of the proceeds to benefit BUP.

“This was a great opportunity for Gravers Lane Gallery to highlight Penn’s role in helping health organizations in Botswana,” Hoffman said. “We’re thrilled to be able to support both local artists in Botswana as well as BUP’s important work.”

When Penn was invited by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Merck Foundation and the Government of Botswana to train health care workers on the management of HIV-infected patients in Botswana almost 14 years ago, the country had the highest AIDS infection rate in the world per capita, according to Dr. Friedman.

With Penn’s help, Botswana has made major strides in its fight against AIDS. Today, BUP serves as technical advisers for clinical care and education and builds research collaborations with key stakeholders in Botswana. “The fact that we are getting proceed benefits to support our program is absolutely perfect,” said Dr. Friedman.

Comprised of three main partners including the Government of Botswana, the University of Botswana and the University of Pennsylvania, BUP believes that quality medicine should be available to populations in need. The partnership has a budget of about $9 million, with $800,000 from Penn and the rest from U.S. government and private grants. About 250 doctors from Penn in addition to medical, nursing and dental students go to Botswana each year to help provide care, teaching, etc.

Ken Goldenberg, a partner in Gravers Lane Gallery and founder of the mega-successful retail development firm The Goldenberg Group, also has a connection to Africa. Several years ago, he created People Helping People/Kenya after a friend put him in touch with a non governmental organization (NGO) working with HIV-positive children in a town north of Nairobi, Kenya. When the NGO left, Goldenberg stayed.

He has frequently traveled to Igoji, a town about four hours north of Nairobi with one tarmac road, two to three months at a time, where he has worked with nuns from the Little Sisters of Don Orione. The Italian convent was founded in the 19th century to help the “neediest of the needy” and is now comprised of mostly Kenyan nuns. There, Goldenberg has paid to send children to school, help build chicken coops, help to rebuild a school for the handicapped and assist other groups and projects in the health and religious fields.

For more information about BUP, visitwww.med.upenn.edu/botswana/TheBUP.shtml To learn more about Cindy Friedman, visit www.cindyfriedman.com/dev/. More information about the exhibit at 215-247-1603 or www.graverslanegallery.com

Archives

  • March 2021 (5)
  • February 2021 (20)
  • January 2021 (23)
  • December 2020 (21)
  • November 2020 (23)
  • October 2020 (26)
  • September 2020 (23)
  • August 2020 (14)
  • July 2020 (17)
  • June 2020 (17)
  • May 2020 (24)
  • April 2020 (55)
  • March 2020 (33)
  • February 2020 (23)
  • January 2020 (29)
  • December 2019 (33)
  • November 2019 (27)
  • October 2019 (19)
  • September 2019 (17)
  • August 2019 (10)
  • July 2019 (27)
  • June 2019 (20)
  • May 2019 (30)
  • April 2019 (23)
  • March 2019 (20)
  • February 2019 (28)
  • January 2019 (31)
  • December 2018 (40)
  • November 2018 (34)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (19)
  • August 2018 (34)
  • July 2018 (19)
  • June 2018 (24)
  • May 2018 (28)
  • April 2018 (37)
  • March 2018 (26)
  • February 2018 (30)
  • January 2018 (30)
  • December 2017 (24)
  • November 2017 (24)
  • October 2017 (19)
  • September 2017 (23)
  • August 2017 (15)
  • July 2017 (18)
  • June 2017 (31)
  • May 2017 (27)
  • April 2017 (26)
  • March 2017 (29)
  • February 2017 (24)
  • January 2017 (34)
  • December 2016 (29)
  • November 2016 (37)
  • October 2016 (14)
  • September 2016 (31)
  • August 2016 (14)
  • July 2016 (23)
  • June 2016 (19)
  • May 2016 (35)
  • April 2016 (30)
  • March 2016 (30)
  • February 2016 (31)
  • January 2016 (22)
  • December 2015 (21)
  • November 2015 (12)
  • October 2015 (5)
  • September 2015 (30)
  • August 2015 (25)
  • July 2015 (20)
  • June 2015 (11)
  • May 2015 (9)
  • April 2015 (34)
  • March 2015 (31)
  • February 2015 (24)
  • January 2015 (41)
Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill Visitor's Center
8514 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215-247-6696
Email

Copyright 2021 the shops and restaurants of Chestnut Hill.
All rights reserved.

Proudly made by Impart Creative.