Here are the event details:

Saturday, August 15th from 5pm-8pm
at two venues in Laguna Beach
1. Joanne Artman Gallery
326 N Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
2. Tosti Studios
210 N Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

To access the website for the event,
you can click on this link:
My Hands Have a Voice Tour

You can also visit the event’s Flickr page to view some of the original artwork from the show (although not all pieces will necessarily be on tour). Check those photos out here to view artwork in response to the issue of the 27 million people living in slavery today.

The My Hands Have A Voice art exhibition against human slavery has limited pieces on tour. All artwork is available for sale and goes to Giving Children Hope to help in the fight against the global public health issue of human slavery.

Come. Be Educated. Do Something.

10% from all other artwork sold at the JoAnne Artman Gallery will be donated to Giving Children Hope

The Freedom In Creation Tour is a unique concert and art exhibition experience to benefit the work of Freedom In Creation in Northern Uganda. Visiting six cities from June 12 to June 18, our goal is to raise $10,000 for Freedom In Creation’s weekly art sessions and fresh water well projects in the Koro Abili IDP camp community. Each night we will showcase the work of child artists and hear live music from singer-songwriter and Freedom In Creation partner, Alex Mejias. Also appearing will be the up and coming pop-rock band, Tim Be Told. Freedom In Creation Founder and President Andrew Briggs will also be presenting a short film and speaking on Freedom In Creation’s work in Koro Abili. For more info visit www.fictour.org.

Since those tour dates are too small to read, they are as follows:
06.12 | Awesome Inc. [Lexington, KY] $10
06.13 | The Water Heater [Roanoke, VA] $10
06.14 | Hazel River Armory [Culpeper, VA] FREE
06.16 | Gallery5 [Richmond, VA] $10
06.17 | Contemporary Art Center [VA Beach, VA] $10
06.18 | Try and Make [Cville, VA] $10

Here is the text from the event press release:

FREEDOM IN CREATION TOUR FEATURING REGIONAL MUSICIANS AND WORK OF CHILD ARTISTS FROM UGANDA SETS OUT IN JUNE 2009.

Charlottesville, VA , May 28, 2009 – The Freedom In Creation Tour is a one-week series of events across Virginia and Kentucky to benefit the work of Freedom In Creation in Northern Uganda, with stops in Lexington (KY), Roanoke, Culpeper, Richmond, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville. Each event includes both a concert from regional artists Alex Mejias and Tim Be Told and an art exhibit entitled “The Story of Freedom,” which features artwork by children participating in Freedom In Creation’s weekly art program. Freedom In Creation founder and president Andrew Briggs will also be presenting a short video and talk introducing Freedom In Creation to attendees. All proceeds from the tour will go to Freedom In Creation and tax deductible donations will also be collected at each event.

The idea for a tour was born out of the success of a benefit concert and exhibit that took place in Washington, D.C. this past February. Mejias and Briggs organized the event together after getting to know each other at an International Justice Mission conference. Of that event Mejias notes that, “the combination of a live concert and art exhibit provides a powerful setting to introduce the work and ethos of Freedom In Creation. Our goal for that night was to celebrate these children’s art as a meaningful contribution to the humanitarian efforts taking place in their community. But it also became a poignant way for us as artists to join them in that work. We hope that this tour will be an inspiration to artists interested in humanitarianism and social justice, that they too can be involved in this work, as artists.”

Freedom in Creation is a community-led, arts-based psychosocial, education and water-development program aimed at empowering war affected children in Northern Uganda while educating about the “global village” and celebrating the role of the arts within humanitarianism. FIC addresses the socialization and reintegration of children (non- and ex-combatants) into their communities and access to clean and safe drinking water. Following a simple process, the children, through their creative power, are able to bring access to fresh drinking water to their communities and consequently feel both empowered and valued as stakeholders in the process. (For more information about Freedom In Creation visit www.freedomincreation.org.)

The Freedom In Creation Benefit Concert and Exhibit will begin on June 12 in Lexington, KY and end on June 18 in Charlottesville, VA. There will be a $10 cover at the door for each event except Culpeper. For more information visit www.FICTOUR.org.

Falling Whistles is a non-profit organization building a coalition in the west to enable an art therapy program in Eastern Congo dedicated to providing war affected children in the region with hope, as well as diplomatically developing long-term change in the region.

As stated on the MOVE website, “The night will be full of color and excitement. MOVE will feature artists from all over the state, live music, interactive entertainment, and speakers including: the founders of Falling Whistles, Sean Carasso and Jonathan Carr, as well as Congolese native and Voice of the Congo founder, Dominique Diomi.

There is a suggested donation of $15 which will benefit Falling Whistles and include a number for the silent auction and a discount on Falling Whistles merchandise purchased at the event.

It is HIGHLY recommended that you Pre-register and Pre-donate due to limited space. Register to ensure your name gets on the guest list! When registering you have the option of donating the suggested $15 by clicking on the DONATE link.”

For more information, please go to: theMOVEevent.com and FallingWhistles.com.

The exhibition will include the work of six Iraqi painters and three photographers. Samples of their work (and their names!) can be found here and here. This exhibition will benefit The Preemptive Love Coalition’s efforts to provide life-saving heart surgeries for 4,000+ Iraqi children and to increase cooperation between communities at-odds and will premier at the B:Fest Luton Arts Festival in Luton, United Kingdom in The Hat Factory Gallery Space.

The Hat Factory Gallery can be found at this address:
65-67 Bute Street
Luton
LU1 2EY
T: 01582 489159

Look for the exhibition to open May 21, 2009 and run through June 12, 2009. Future stops are set to be announced, but they’re hoping to make a few more stops within the U.K. and further down the road in Sweden, the Netherlands, Hungary, Turkey, and later in the United States.

Any other inquiries about the exhibit and the PLC cause can be directed to info@preemptivelove.org.

Edit // 4-24-09:
Below are a couple photos from a recent exhibit put on by the Preemptive Love Coalition in the United Kingdom. I’ve been informed that this exhibit was a little less formal than the future exhibits will be, but hopefully you get the idea!

The Love Alliance will be teaming up with the TOMS Vagabonds Tour Southeast Team to promote the TOMS One for One Movement, where for every pair of shoes sold, one is given to a child in need. The event will also be benefiting The Love Alliance, as for every pair of shoes sold, $8 will be donated to The Love Alliance, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Participate in the “Style Your Sole,” where you can buy a pair of white TOMS and customize them on the spot.

There will be live music by Finland, Shane Wright and the Hundred Acre Wood, and Jason Choi and the Sea.

There will also be a screening of “For Tomorrow: The TOMS Shoes Story” in between sets.

The event is free and starts at 7:00 p.m.

For more information, visit: www.thelovealliance.net and www.tomsshoes.com.

“Where art and music collide to benefit breast cancer.”

Ohhh, kids. Kelli Murray, current featured artist, will be at another benefit event. (Which means I’m jealous of all of you San Diego folks.) This time, the event will benefit Keep a Breast, and feature a total of 17 artists, along with DJ Craig Smoove and Slighlty Stoopid drummer Ryan Moran, all at the Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego.

Hard Rock Hotel
100 5th Avenue
San Diego , CA 92101

Tickets are $10 presale and $20 at the door, and can be purchased online at www.wanttickets.com. You really don’t want to miss this.

The Lydia Fair is an outreach event sponsored by the Greater Boston Vineyard. With a massive lineup of artists, ranging from photographers to poets and printmakers, Lydia Fair is a must-attend. Started in 2001 as an outlet for women to express their creativity, the Lyida Fair now showcases artwork of all sorts in an effort to raise money and awareness for many different organizations. You can check out more on the history of the Lydia Fair from their site here.

This event takes place at their Cambridge site, 170 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140.

This year, they’re raising money for two organizations: www.love146.org and www.rebuildafrica.org.

The benefit takes place on Saturday evening, April 25, featuring an original theatrical show entitled The Hour, at 6 and 8:30. The gallery is open 12-5 on both Saturday and Sunday, April 26, and we will be showing the documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, about the civil war in Liberia, on Sunday afternoon.

Tickets (on sale as of April 5):
$18 General Seating
$25 Reserved Stage-side Seating
10 for $146 Advanced Group Sales

Mail order: Lydia Fair, 15 Notre Dame Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140.

Volunteers see the show for free. Crews are needed for gallery hosting, pr, video, lighting, stage, and ushering.

Contact: info@lydiafair.org or 617.252.0005 x103.

“My Hands Have a Voice” Art Exhibit will be held Saturday April 18 at 7 p.m. at:
Giving Children Hope
8332 Commonwealth Ave.
Buena Park, CA 90621
714-523-4454

Giving Children Hope hosts “My Hands Have A Voice” Art Exhibit as a response to the issue of human slavery. The evening will include art exhibition of local artists, silent auction of artwork displayed, live music by Eko Funke along with other music by TOKiMONSTA, a film screening of critically acclaimed documentary Call+Response, a TOMS shoes paint station, interactive slavery experience and response area, and much more.

Tickets are on sale now:
$15 online
$20 at the door
$7 students with valid ID

To submit artwork, purchase tickets, find opportunities to volunteer, view a list of items that need to be donated, or for more information visit the event website at www.myhandshaveavoice.org or contact Melissa Strauss at Mstrauss@godaid.org.

Ticket proceeds and art sales help to support the efforts of Giving Children Hope to alleviate the global and public health issues of human slavery.

Event Site: http://www.myhandshaveavoice.org
For the event video, and other videos from our sponsors: Here

Here is some information on Naomis Village Orphanage…please pass it on, post it to your FaceBook, MySpace, Tumlbr, Twitter, blog, etc., and tag your friends. Help us come together again as a community of individuals with a purpose.

Naomi means “beautiful, pleasant, and delightful”. Naomi’s Village Orphanage will be built on a 5-acre piece of land located in Maai Mahui, Kenya. Maai Mahui is a 20-minute drive from Kijabe down into the valley. It is located along a major trade route known as the AIDS highway that links Nairobi to Kampala. As a principal truck stop on that road, the village has high rates of prostitution and AIDS. It is estimated that in Kenya 1.1 million children are orphans with the number expected to continue to rise. Naomi’s Village is expected to house as many as 110 children, both male and female. We have had actual plans drawn up by a Kenyan architect who designed another children’s home in the area. The orphanage will have running water and electricity and will have a security fence around the periphery, since this is a high crime area. Children who are school age will attend the Maai Mahui Primary School, which is within walking distance. The plans for our orphanage also call for a large common room for meetings, services, and presentations. Boys will be housed in an area entirely separate from the girls’ wing. In addition, the plans include living space for visiting teams as they come to serve and minister to the children. There will also be offices and living space for those who permanently administrate the orphanage. Medical and surgical care can easily be provided by nearby AIC/Kijabe Hospital and AIC/CURE Hospital.

It is our intent that this will be a full time orphanage providing food, clothing, shelter, and education for both children orphaned by the death of parents and abandoned at birth (both common scenarios). There is actually a nursery in the plans to accommodate infants. Elisha and Esther Gachoka own the land and share our vision for the orphanage.

We still need to raise approximately $50,000.

HOPE from Veritas Fashion on Vimeo.

“The silence that surrounds children affected by HIV/AIDS and the inaction that results is morally reprehensible and unacceptable. It the situation is not addressed, and not addressed now with increased urgency, millions of children will continue to die, and tens of millions more will be further marginalized, stigmatized, malnourished, uneducated, and psychologically damaged.”-Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF

Check out the Veritas website at www.liveveritas.com.