In Celebration Of The 50th Anniversary Of World Heritage, UNESCO Paris HQ Unveils Global Artist Sacha Jafri’s Latest Collection Inspired From The Heritage Sites Of Our World

This year, UNESCO celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1972 World Heritage Convention under the theme ‘The Next 50: World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation,‘ inviting the world to imagine our relationship with, and responsibility for, heritage in the face of rising global challenges.

Schaefer and Jafri continue their epic journey with another twist. Jafri’s exhibition of World Heritage Sites, at the UNESCO HQ Great Hall will be displayed as sculptural artworks suspended from the ceiling, with the fuselage from the outer skin of a decommissioned Airbus A320-211 as his canvas; part of an upcycling initiative, aligning with Schaefer’s aim to exhibit art outside of the confines of the traditional Gallery Space. This Airplane, has travelled the world taking passengers to these sites for several decades and now, instead of being scrapped, it has a new life as Jafri’s twelve sculptural art works, celebrating those same sites and continuing the journey as an everlasting legacy for the cultural heritage of our world.

Through his exhibition during the European Heritage Days, Jafri aims to inspire the general public with a new meaning of the love and appreciation of our colorful and fragile world, rooted in his conviction that reflections, dialogues, empathy and collaborative efforts are needed for its conservation and for a better future for the children of our world. It is the first time the Collection will welcome pieces of Jafri’s Art Maze Collection for general viewing by the wider public.

Jafri, awarded by the UN for his humanitarian work and regarded as one of the world’s most important living Artists, aims through his work, to reconnect humanity to our cultural heritage, our ancestral past and the beauty that surrounds us within our natural world, as well as shine a light on the desperately needed conversations on sustainability, conservation, empathy, and compassion – his hope for a better future for our planet and ALL humanity.

Marcus Schaefer:“Giving this aircraft – which connected the world for decades – a second life through pieces of Sacha’s Art Maze collection that have been created with the same objective, just feels like a further natural step into the right direction for me. I’ve always been passionate about touching and connecting people through art in unconventional ways. To shine a light on heritage sites around the world with this exhibition at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris is a great honour for us all.”

Sacha Jafri:“Expanding this special collection to create more sculptural pieces onto the fuselage of an Airbus A320 has been a really exciting and meaningful process for me. Painting from the subconscious and in a deep meditative state I travelled to each place trying to capture the spirit and the soul of the site itself as well as the people that lived there; in a state of surrender, with purified intentions, aiming to tap in to something greater than myself and encourage the viewer to find magic in the overfamiliar, to reconnect to themselves, each other, our creator, and ultimately to ‘The Soul of the Earth’.

With this collection I hope to inspire the reconnection of Humanity through the natural beauty that surrounds us and the Heritage Sites of our World; linking us back to our cultural & ancestral past, our more empathetic & conscious present, and our inspired & hopeful future. With this collection of our most beloved UNESCO World Heritage Sites I hope to spark an electric shock that enters our souls, creating a trigger for us to unlearn everything we thought we knew and re-learn everything through the beauty of our natural world, and the purity of the hearts, minds, & souls of our children; with this I am hopeful for a more conscious humanity, where poignant conversations can create the real action needed for the conservation & sustainability of a reunited planet.”    

The Art Maze was unveiled on the iconic Burj Al Arab Helipad in Dubai earlier this year and the exhibition was extended by popular demand, marking the Helipad’s longest closure in its history.

‘The Art Maze World Tour’, in partnership with UNESCO, is now well underway in its epic journey to all four corners of the world, as part of UNESCO’s inclusive celebration of ‘The Next 50’. In April this year, as part of the World Tour, Jafri’s latest Artwork in The Art Maze Collection ‘Sagarmartha National Park’ was unveiled on Mount Everest, Kathmandu, as the first painting to ever be unveiled on Mount Everest.

Sacha Jafri’s works have already been exhibited in the world’s most prominent art institutions, alongside Picasso, Warhol, Hockney, Matisse, Dali, Miro, Koons, Rothko, Kiefer, Kandinsky, and Pollock, to name but a few.

In honour of this cause, Jafri is producing a signature print collection for art lovers who are keen to own a piece of his humanitarian journey. They can be found at: www.https://collection.theartmaze.com/.

Michael Croft, Head of Office at UNESCO: “UNESCO, in partnership with The Art Maze and the unveiling of Sacha Jafri’s New Collection, reinforces its mission of promoting inclusive, interdisciplinary dialogues related to heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, and the challenges World Heritage Sites face in the context of climate change, as part of UNESCO’s ‘The Next 50’ dialogues.

It is our great pleasure to host this incredible exhibition from one of the world’s most exciting and poignant artists, Sacha Jafri, his ‘World Heritage Sites Collection’ celebrates our world and all that needs to be sustained, preserved and adored, celebrating our 50^thAnniversary of the 1972 World Heritage Sites Convention here in Paris, this will help bring new eyes to UNESCO’s work and shine a light on our vision for ‘The Next 50’.

We are particularly delighted to add one of Jafri’s pieces from his Heritage Site’s Collection, his stunning depiction of ‘Notre Dame’ painted on a cut fuselage from an Airbus A320, to our collection of Museum-Works; alongside Picasso, Miro, Henry Moore, and Giacometti, amongst other great Modernist Artists here at UNESCO.“