The STAND Student Festival, run by students for students, aims at raising awareness about the burning issues shaping the world around us. It has been bringing award-winning photography, film and events focused on global justice to campuses across Ireland every autumn since 2013.
For 2021, the festival focused on the theme of resilience (#WeWillRise) and celebrated change-makers and trailblazers who have risen up in the face of global challenges, working tirelessly and courageously to bring about change. The aim was to inspire hope, optimism and belief that no matter how dark the world may seem, we as global citizens, through our vision and our actions, are resilient – and have the power to influence the future wellbeing of our communities and our world.
As one out of only 5 Ireland-based and International artists and illustrators, STAND commissioned me to produce portraits of four change-makers for display in the exhibition.
The four impressive personalities I had the pleasure of illustrating are:
Nina Gualinga, an indigenous woman leader of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and an advocate for climate justice and indigenous rights
Alex Kofi Donker, Human Rights Advocate and LGBTQ+ activist from Ghana
Aisling Byrne, founder of Nuw, a clothes sharing app and community dedicated to empowering people to reduce the environmental impact of fashion by giving life back to the clothes that already exist
As well as the #MeToo Movement, a global social movement against sexual abuse and sexual harassment
STAND Student Festival, November 2021
Viktoria Spokojna 