The Solidarity Series of Events
Arts and entertainment in all its forms can connect and inspire audiences across social and geographic boundaries around important global issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly true when it comes to emergencies as artists act as important communicators of critical health prevention messages, healers of trauma and interpreters of cultural responses to crises.
Here is a selection of ways artists and entertainers are helping to spread WHO’s health messages, share their experiences, show solidarity and raise funds:
Healing Arts Jaipur - Stories of Healing in Cloth
Stories of Healing in Cloth is presented by Nila House in partnership with The Art Lab Studio and The Corona Quilt Project, an India-wide artisan engagement initiative that offers an uplifting, inclusive channel of collective mental and social healing in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
We are family campaign
A special edition cover of Sister Sledge’s timeless hit “We Are Family” will be released in a new and inspiring call for global solidarity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and address pressing global health challenges.
Ahead of the re-release of the song in December 2020, health workers, celebrities and the public are invited to participate in making the music video to accompany the song and show they are part of a global "family."
WHO x Create2030 COVID-19 Arts Festival
Join us for a series of online events celebrating the art and artists who have taken the call to respond to the COVID-19 crises through the production of artwork that serves to educate, dispel myths and create a narrative of this interesting time in our history.
From 26-31 July 2020, we are curating a series of webinar events that invite guest artists of different disciplines and artist allies to speak about the challenges and opportunities that are presented during COVID-19.
This will also serve as the launch of the Solidarity Shows Virtual Art Gallery.
Solidarity Art Shows
WHO is working with Create2030 and a group of international working artists on a project to showcase films, music, poetry and visual art about the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information about the artists, and to view videos made through this project, https://www.create2030.org/solidarity-shows.
If you are an artist interested in submitting your work, join the Facebook group facebook.com/groups/loveinthetimeofcoronavirus
Solidarity Sessions: #TogetherAtHome
Global Citizen, WHO and a group of dedicated celebrities have launched "Together At Home" – a series of performances from artists’ homes, offered on social media. Musician Chris Martin, from
Coldplay, kicked off the initiative on Monday 16 March.
Since then, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Niall Horan, Common, Julianne Hough, Hozier, OneRepublic and more have all performed concerts from home, with many more artists to come. For more concerts and activities, see https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/connect/togetherathome
One World: Together At Home
This virtual concert, organized by WHO and Global Citizen, brought some of the world’s leading entertainers together, performing in their homes across the world, to celebrate and support healthcare workers working on the frontlines of the pandemic.
Art in the Time of Coronavirus
This panel discussion covers the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the environmental crisis, its impact on the art world, and the role of artists in responding to this great health and economic challenge of our time. Hosted by WHO, with Jerry Saltz, Chief Art Critic of New York Magazine, Anne Pasternak, the Director of the Brooklyn Museum and Mona Chalabi, the Data Illustrator for The Guardian.
Earth Day concert
Earth Day concert by Ricky Kej and the World Ensemble was broadcast on 22 April 2020 in support of WHO and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Speakers: Dr. Tedros Adhanom (Director General - WHO) Patricia Espinosa (Executive Secretary - UN Climate Change) Ibrahim Thiaw (Executive Secretary - UNCCD) Pavan Sukhdev (President - WWF International) Sadhguru (Isha Foundation)
United Nations Chamber Music Society in New York performs solo, together
The Pot - a play about universal health coverage and disease outbreaks
The Pot by Mac Rogers is a play WHO produced for the UN General Assembly in September 2019 to dramatize the importance of universal health care. To do this, Mac Rogers invented a respiratory disease called Vunkle which decimated the work force and people were not able to afford the tests. Did the show predict COVID-19? Judge for yourself...