Chess, Peace, Art: Yoko Ono's 'Play it by Trust' from War Is Over! (if you want it)
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Chess, Peace and Art with Yoko Ono and Alexandra Kosteniuk: Jonathan Keats has done a nice review of a very special art exhibition in Australia: Yoko Ono's War Is Over! (if you want it). There's a special exhibit based on chess - 'Play it by Trust'.
Keats writes: Currently on exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia – and available for tournaments all day long every day of the week – Play It By Trust is as profound as it is simple. All chess pieces are white, as are all squares on the board: Both sides are identical and the contested ground is undefined. Intended “for playing as long as you can remember where all your pieces are,” the game is designed to undermine the competition it incites. Playing invites “a new relationship based on empathy rather than opposition,” Ono has noted. In contrast to antiwar propaganda, which tends only to make jingoists more bellicose, Ono’s chess sets dissolve absolutes. Participation changes people from within.
"The same is true of most of the art produced by Ono since the 1950s, and the majority of it falls into the rarest of cultural categories: Art that is essential, without which society would be considerably impoverished. The most vital and enriching are her Instruction Paintings, koan-like conceptual works that exist only in words until they’re performed. (“Drill a small, almost invisible hole in the center of the canvas and see the room through it,” reads her 1961 Painting to See the Room.)"
“You can assemble a painting with a person in the North Pole over a phone, like playing chess,” Ono once wrote. Or you can assemble it by trust – not unlike world peace.
Experience the works of legendary artist, peace activist and musician – Yoko Ono – when the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia brings War Is Over! (if you want it): Yoko Ono exclusively to Sydney this summer.
Labels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, chess and peace, Peace and Sport, play it by trust, yoko ono
"Peace and Sport" and FIDE take Chess to Palestine
12th Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Latest Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
We have here a nice letter from Ludovic Hubler, Head of Programmes and Field Operations, Peace and Sport, L'Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport.
Peace and Sport and FIDE were together in Palestine this week to follow up on the “Chess for leadership and creativity” common project launched in November 2011, part of the common worldwide program “Chess for Peace”.
“Chess for leadership and creativity” is the third common project after Haiti and Colombia. This project mainly focuses on Palestinian women empowerment using chess as a tool.
During this trip, FIDE was represented by IM Damir Levacic, President of the Mediterranean Chess Union. Peace and Sport was represented by Ludovic Hubler Head of Programmes and Field Operations.
During this four-day trip, the team visited each of the 5 beneficiary centers: Qatanna (near Ramallah), Shiraa (Bethlehem), Al Mahawer (near Hebron), Kfar Akeb and Las Khamis (near Jerusalem) and of course met with the Palestinian Chess Federation.
Ludovic Hubler writes, "I have to say that Damir and myself were quite impressed to see the progresses made by each of the beneficiary centers. Their level has increased a lot over the past year and a half, to the point that one of these centers (Qatanna) is now considered the best in Palestine for women. Some of the beneficiary girls have even participated in International competitions (Russia, Qatar and Turkey) and one of them managed to meet 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, Peace and Sport Champion for Peace and “godmother” of the project."
"I’d like to, through this email, acknowledge the work done by FIDE expert Damir Levacic who gave all his energy to teach some new techniques for the beneficiary people and to play with some of them. Everybody there enjoyed his visit as well as Melissa visit last year. Everybody seems to have kept a great memory of her stay there. We are in touch for the next steps in our cooperation."
Labels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, damir levacic, ludovic hubler, palestine chess, Peace and Sport
Chess for creativity and leadership - empowerment of Palestinian women
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Here is some great chess news.
'Chess for Leadership and Creativity' - (placed under the patronage of international chess Grandmaster and former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk - The Chess Queen) is now helping Arab women.
Melissa Levacic, a strong chess player, and daughter of president of Mediterranean Chess Association, Damir Levacic, is in Palestine for five weeks, to share her passion for the chess game with Palestinians kids, as a voluntary for the Association "Peace and Sport". The Peace and Sport peace-building programs aim at putting sport at the service of peace education and social inclusion for vulnerable youth. Melissa will be working with two NGOs based there - "Care Palestine" and "Jerusalem Suburb Communities".
Read Melissa's blog at this link.
You would also like to read the following related links:
On November 10, 'CHESS FOR LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY', a structured program using chess to encourage Palestinian women’s empowerment and develop their leadership skills, was launched in five Youth Centres in East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Qatanna and Hebron.
“CHESS FOR LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY” is a three-year pilot program dedicated to young Arab women living in challenging and sometimes dangerous environments with the objective of empowering them to create a better future and to develop activities for their neighbourhoods.
The intrinsic values of chess (such as perseverance, discipline, creativity, accepting defeat, continual quest for progress and focus) will facilitate these vulnerable young women’s personal development, improve their emotional stability and encourage their social integration.
The program, based on the structured and supervised practice of chess, will be offered in five Youth Centres:
- Qatanna Youth Centre, Dhiesha Youth Centre (Refugee camp of Bethlehem) and Al-Mahawer Charitable society (Hebron) – all run by the NGO Care Palestine;
- Dahiat El Sallam Youth Centre and Kfar Akeb Youth Centre – run by the NGO Jerusalem Suburbs Community Center located in East Jerusalem.
- “Chess for Leadership and Creativity” is a project under the guidance and leadership of the Palestinian Chess Federation with support from the Monaco-based international organization Peace and Sport and the World Chess Federation (FIDE). It is designed as a pilot project, which will be duplicated and transformed into a national program at a later stage.
- As you know Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk is also a Peace and Sport Champion for Peace and a true ambassador for chess worldwide, who has always worked to ensure that her favourite sport serves peace, human development and social progress.
- Peace and Sport and FIDE signed a partnership in 2010 to pioneer activities that use chess as a vehicle for youth development, social cohesion and pacific coexistence. The “Chess for Leadership and Creativity” program is the third achievement of this partnership, after similar programs in Colombia and Haiti.
To support the program, please go to our webpage.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Labels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, chess for creativity and leadership, chess in palestine, Chess Queen, FIDE, Melissa Levacic, Peace and Sport
Make a difference - for peace, chess and children - with Chess Queen Kosteniuk
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Hello everyone!
As Champion for Peace, after inaugurating the “Ajedrez por la Paz” program in Puerto Tejada, Colombia (see photos) last April, Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk remains committed to Peace and is now the patron of a joint project run by the National Chess Federations in Israel and Palestine, with FIDE, called “Chess for Leadership and Creativity“, supported by the NGOs “Jerusalem Suburbs Community Center” and “Care Palestine.” The organization “Peace & Sport", who do so much to make life better for so many kids in the world, is calling for donations for this project. You want to help? Just go to Chess Queen's post at www.chessqueen.com and you can make a donation.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Labels: Chess for Leadership and Creativity, Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, Peace and Sport
|
|
