Donation advertising by international aid organizations – criticism and alternatives, 2017
Starting Point for the Project (De-)Colonial Visual Worlds by ISD (Initiative for Black People in Germany) and glokal is development aid fundraising advertising, which shapes viewers’ awareness through its placement in public spaces and in the media. The visual narratives depicting crises in the Global South are marked by a colonial continuity. The bodies of Black people and people of color are shown in passive, suffering, and dependent positions and reduced to these roles.
From different positions, groups and organizations came impulses for an examination of donation advertising and public relations work of aid organizations. Here, however, the focus was firstly on criticism, and secondly, the discussion was limited to development actors within the scene.
With the project (de)colonial imagery we wanted to go one step further by inviting the artists Rajkamal Kahlon, Isaiah Lopaz and Lena Ziyal to design alternative advertising posters. These were displayed on billboards in central locations in Berlin’s public spaces.
In addition to the artistic contributions of this project, this publication also gathers the voices and counter-designs of activists, scientists and artists.
Download the e-publication here