Channeldraw

Channeldraw is a twitter profile active since 2009. From that moment 4.460 drawing and short video have been tweeted, all connected to political and social issues. Followed by 58.800 follower, Channeldraw activates relationships, supports claims and real actions, raises awareness on human rights violations. Just using drawings.
Born as a new form of arctivism, it becomes an independent tool of news and topics on whom you should become sensitised. It has no economical support from any association or NGO, (not even crow funding sources) and it is run by the artist Gianluca Costantini, based in Ravenna – Italy.
The present project aims to tell for the first time in an exhibition some key stories flowered in this context, but also it aims to promote new ones. It will be possible in fact to propose actions, stories, topics, even not well knowedto the drawer in order to activate campaigns or arts for direct actions: they will enrich the wall who will be focused on 7 key stories of this long and fertile online project, presented for the very first time to an art prize.
The 7 key stories are:


#Privado de libertad – VenezuelaYa
It's a portrait series born after the direct request of action of Rodrigo Diamanti, director of Sinmordaza, in particular after the detention of the Major of Caracas. Drawings have been used by activist not only in Venezuela to ask for the release of the political prisoners.

#GiulioRegeni – Disappeared
The portrait of the young Italian researcher has been tweeted before the founding of his body, when the media attention was not so concentrated on his disappearance. The days after the founding of the dead student, not having images at disposal, many mainstream media used this portrait, without asking the permission of the artist, such as Repubblica.it Home Page, Il Piccolo of Trieste online and on paper, during the tv show “Bersaglio mobile” on La7, on the first page on paper of il Messaggero.
#Egypt – Freedom to Ahmed Maher and all political activist.
Drawings realized to ask for immediate release of the political activist in Egypt in 2015 became an action in NY run by the actor Holt McCallany e the artist Siobban Muldoon documented by a video.

#Turkey – censorship
The covering of Turkish politics determined a censorship on the Twitter profile of the artist in this country, decided by a court, in particular for a portrait of the Prime Minister.

#Anonymous
Freedom of speech and information is one of the hottest themes nowadays. Collaboration with Anonymous team focused on freedom of hackers operating not for earning money, but to permit to spread real information instead of lies often presented as true.

#Bahrein
The son of Khalil Al Halwaki, a teacher imprisoned for terrorism without any reason, asked for action and since then the Bahrein series is one of the most important. Active also now, since human rights situation is quite bad.

#FreeNimr
Death sentence on a kid in 2012, sentenced because he participated to Arab Spring manifestations, moved many organizations all around the world. Drawings of Channeldraw were really appreciated by the mothers of the three kids on Christmas and they wrote a letter to thank for this contribution.

Original drawings, material pointing out their life in the net and actions/reactions determined will be exposed on the wall. There will be also a screen on which it will be possible to watch the profile ongoing. People could ask directly for action to the artist using a special tag realized for the exhibition and the drawings realized will be putted aside the old ones so the gallery will be different day by day, showing that drawing cannot be stopped, because human rights horizon is always there to ask us to enlarge the line of attention and care.