ART RUSSE SUPPORTS NAKED HEART FOUNDATION
20 Sep 16
Art Russe is delighted to announce its support of the Naked Heart Foundation with a generous donation to the charity.
The Naked Heart Foundation was set up by Russian Supermodel and philanthropist, Natalia Vodianova in 2004 to support efforts to eradicate child abandonment and build inspiring and safe play facilities for children of all abilities across Russia and internationally. The Foundation’s main focus is to create support services for families raising children with conditions such as Autism, Down’s syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and learning disabilities, while also building play parks and playgrounds accessible to all children. The main mission of the Foundation is to help create an inclusive society that is open to people with disabilities and special needs.
The charity runs Family Support Centres; trains teachers of specialised schools and nurseries to work with children with autism; organises summer camps for children with special needs and funds a range of smaller Russian NGOs focused on children with special needs and their parents. The foundation also holds an annual international "Every Child Deserves a Family" forum for childcare professionals, which attracts hundreds of specialists from around the world. To date, the Foundation has also built over 170 play facilities in Russia and 3 parks in the UK.
Natalia Vodianova, the charity’s Founder and Trustee has said of their work:
"Our greatest achievement so far - on top of the many new facilities and projects we have built for children with special needs and their families - has been the emergence of a major change in attitudes in Russia. This is the main ambition we’ve been pursuing and our biggest success to date, and hopefully, it is just the beginning."
Andrey Filatov, Founder of Art Russe, said: “Art Russe shares the Naked Heart Foundation’s vision of a fully inclusive society where all opportunities are open to people with special needs. We believe art is an important vehicle for transforming young lives and the Naked Heard Foundation has over a decade of experience of working to improve the life of every child.”
Art Russe has selected the Naked Heart Foundation as one of their charity partners for their forthcoming exhibition 'The Art of Storytelling' at the Mall Galleries, London (14 December 2016 - 5 January 2017). The exhibition will include an area dedicated to highlighting the recent work and achievements of the Naked Hearts Foundation to help raise their profile and assist with future fundraising. The show will be open to all but will focus on bringing in children from all backgrounds to engage in art and storytelling workshops.
