Proving that a Brush is Mightier than Arms Anjali Chandrashekar

Anjali Chandrashekar 24, has been an artist since she was just 16. She raises funds through her works for natural calamities, child abuse, and rehabilitation of underprivileged children.  In 2008, at an International Diabetes Charity, Anjali raised around $5000 for providing insulin to poverty stricken diabetic children. She won the third prize at the United Nations Poster for Peace Contest. She received the award at the U.N. Headquarters in New York on May 3, 2016. She said,

“nuclear disarmament is usually spoken about on such a high level and I believe that art has the power to humanize some of the most pressing issues that the world faces today.” – Anjali Chandrashekar

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Anjali Chandrashekar was only 10 years old when she founded ‘Picture It‘ , a non-governmental organisation that uses imagery to raise awareness and funds for various health, humanitarian and environmental causes. She mainly uses her creativity to benefit underprivileged children. She uses her art works to raise funds for causes like diabetes, dialysis, rehabilitation, child abuse, and cerebral palsy. Anjali is a British Council Global Changemaker, and represented the Global Changemaker programme at the Economic Forum in 2011. She was the youngest representative, and one of five selected from a pool of over 1500 applicants.

It’s not an ordinary thing that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hands over a certificate to someone or, actor Michael Douglas shares someone’s work on Facebook. That’s what happened with Anjali Chandrashekhar who won the third prize at the United Nations Poster for Peace Contest. She received the award at the U.N. Headquarters in New York on May 3 2016.

Two of Anjali Chandrashekar’s works were selected — ‘Break Free’ and ‘Cutting a Peace Deal’both portraying a dove. In ‘Break Free’ Anjali shows white peace doves fly out of a cage shaped like a nuclear warhead, while in Cutting a Peace Deal’ she shows affirmative action — the dove acts like scissors and cuts through the image of a warhead, towards peace. Anajli  studied at PSBB Senior Secondary School and went on to graduate from Pratt Institute in the U.S. She has participated in several U.N. campaigns in the past.

“It was such an honour to be part of the 2016 campaign for nuclear disarmament. Releasing the posters with the Secretary-General was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I will cherish forever,” – Anjali Chandrashekar

This campaign was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first General Assembly Resolution and to reaffirm the U.N.’s historic commitment to nuclear disarmament. At the United Nations Anjali also met the President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and actor Michael Douglas, long-standing U.N. Messenger of Peace. “I got to speak with them and understand what they do and the challenges within the realm of nuclear disarmament,” says Anjali.

 

Anjali has always liked to speak through visuals. “As an artist, I have tried to make meaning of the world around me visually. And pictures transcend barriers of age, language and literacy. The Poster for Peace was a chance for me to show that a brush can be mightier than arms. The goal of nuclear disarmament has been a tremendously difficult challenge, but this campaign tells us that peace is possible if we all work together towards it,” says Anjali, who works in the U.S. Anjali heard about the event on their website and applied. She submitted three posters, of which two were selected. It took me three months, but I didn’t do it at a stretch. I played with several ideas and finally came up with these,” says the young and talented artist. “Pratt influenced my artistic language. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to get an education that helped me with that design thinking process and I think it translates into my recent work too,” she adds.

For more than last 10 years, Anjali has been working on her global social project, Picture It, through which she has been making art for various health, humanitarian and environmental causes for national and international organisations. She first started sending art works through post and then used e-mails as well. At first Anjali did not realize the magnitude of her work and her world vision. She only read, absorbed, painted and drew things. “My peers at school were supportive, but not many knew what I was doing,” she smiles. “They just knew I made a lot of art. I was pretty shy.”

The exposure art has provided Anjali Chandrashekar has kept her going over the years. “I’ve attended a lot of summits and conferences and met people from different countries. Just learning about their backgrounds and seeing how much they have accomplished has been a constant driving factor.” It’s just the beginning of a great chapter and lots of new achievements which are still in hold of future for Anjali. WonderfulWomen wishes her All the best for all her future endeavours. Hope she keeps us making proud!