Art for Gold visually underlines the importance of freedom for us all.

Eveline van de Griend started the Art for Gold project in South Africa to raise awareness for the importance of Freedom. The start of apartheid was connected to Gold. Slave gold. Still today ghost miners work in modern-day slavery. They have no choice but to try and “earn” their freedom. Van de Griend created Art for Gold, to raise awareness to the fact that we are still on that long walk to freedom. 

Art for Gold combines History with the present, in a modern way and underlines our involvement and responsibility towards each other to stop slavery.

Art for Gold creates personal portraits in return for gold. The gold came from participants from all over the world who warmly supported this project. Their gold was melted and made into a unique art piece that will be donated to one of the leading art museums of South Africa. The sculpture carries the message 1% pure goodness engraved in the collected gold for all to read. This art piece visually underlines the importance of freedom for us all! Lets remember the people that made Freedom around the world possible like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Wangari Maathai, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Benazir Bhutto and many others. They cared about our Freedom and equal rights and so should we!

1% pure goodness – A symbol of Freedom, to show you care

If everyone would share 1% pure goodness that would already make a significant change. As part of this awareness Van de Griend designed a ring where two fingers are joined together as one, with the text ‘1% pure goodness’ engraved in mirrored writing. The ring can be used as a seal ring: when pressed into a soft surface the text ‘1%pure goodness’ will appear just like on the unique piece that will be shown at the museum in South Africa.

The  ‘1% pure goodness’ rings can be bought in our online shop . The rings are made as a symbol of Freedom, to wear and to show you care about our future and haven’t forgotten the past.

NEWS

Art for Gold is now on view at Wereld Museum Leiden in the Netherlands as part of the exhibition Enchanted by Gold. Discover the fascinating role of gold through time and culture. This exhibition reveals the spiritual and material appeal of gold and lets you experience how this precious material can dazzle, connect and divide. From historical objects from our rich collection to contemporary works of art – together they provide a multifaceted picture of gold’s enduring value and significance, both in the past and for the future.

With Artworks by: William Kentridge – the Marina Abramović Archives and LIMA – Sarah van Sonsbeeck, Courtesy Annet Gelink gallery, Amsterdam – Eveline van de Griend – Ruudt Peters – Caspar Berger – Boris van Berkum – Koen Theys, courtesy Keteleer Gallery – Thom Puckey, Courtesy of MPV Gallery – Mirte Engelhard – Lina Iris Viktor; Courtesy of the artist and Pilar Corrias, London

Watch here

the Art for Gold – A symbol of Freedom – Documentary