World Art Day 2024 – 15 April
World Art Day is celebrated each year on 15 April – the birthday of the Italian polymath and artist Leonardo da Vinci and raise awareness for the arts. World Art Day is observed to promote the creation, sharing and enjoyment of art on both a local and global scale. The day recognizes the importance of art, and a celebration of art, as important for healthy, vibrant and diverse communities and societies to flourish and grow.
World Art Day aims to bring people together through a shared enjoyment of art, building connections, and promoting a world in which we are all free to express ourselves, our feelings, and our emotions, through art and creative expression.
History
The day was founded in 2012 by the International Association of Art IAA/AIAP, and was first time celebrated on April 15, 2012. The date was chosen as it coincides with birthday of most famous artist Leonardo da Vinci (15 Apr 1452 – 2 May 1519). As a symbol of world peace, freedom of expression and tolerance, da Vinci is also a testament to the influence of the Fine Arts on other fields. It was proposed by the 17th General Assembly of the International Association of Art in Guadalajara, Mexico, and received international support. The very first celebration, World Art Day has been recognized by the International Association of Art and artists from France, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, South Africa, and numerous other countries.
Leonardo da Vinci best known achievement, however, is undoubtedly the half-length portrait painting ‘Mona Lisa’. Da Vinci’s masterpiece has been described as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world”, and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the the highest known insurance valuation in history. Insured for $100 million in 1962, the painting is now worth a whopping $800 million!
The day was proclaimed in United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) General Conference in 2019. According to UNESCO website “Art nurtures creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples across the globe and plays an important role in sharing knowledge and encouraging curiosity and dialogue. These are qualities that art has always had, and will always have if we continue to support environments where artists and artistic freedom are promoted and protected. In this way, furthering the development of art also furthers our means to achieve a free and peaceful world.”
Since 2012, World Art Day has been celebrated in a growing number of countries with exhibitions, conferences, street festivities, concerts attracting the masses and raising social and collective consciousness to the role of art as an instrument of peace and democratic solidarity in defense of freedom and free art all over the world.
Why is World Art Day so important?
World Art Day is important for many reasons.
- For supporting and sustaining local artists by giving them a platform for their creative content.
- For bringing art into local communities, and schools, and helping to spread awareness about not only art, but the ideas and emotions the art expresses and shares.
- For encouraging dialogue between different groups of people, based on their perception of an art piece or exhibit. It is important for widening people’s minds, and experiences beyond their own.
- It’s about encouraging and promoting diversity and inclusion through art.
- For placing art within the context of promoting sustainability, at both a local and global level. Many artists are committed to raising awareness about sustainability, while also applying sustainable practices to how they create their art.
- It is about making art more accessible, and available to anyone who wishes to enjoy it.
How to Observe
Whether you are an art lover or not, World Art Day is an opportunity to discover new arts, contemporary arts and all forms of art through exhibitions across the country. On this day visit a art museum, watch an art movie, do an art project with your child, commit to some art class or canvas event, or sketch a drawing or take a photograph. Share your artistic creation on social media with #WorldArtDay.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo Da Vinci
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