The Museum of Drug Policy: Forty-one art pieces highlighting the impact of current global policies

 The travelling exhibit will be visiting in Montréal on May 15-17 as part of the 25^th Harm Reduction International Conference

MONTRÉAL, May 14, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Following its successful launch in New York in April 2016, the Museum of Drug Policy's international travelling exhibit will be making its first stop in Montréal in a "pop-up museum" format on May 15-17, as part of the 25^th Harm Reduction International Conference, before making its way to Europe. Visitors will get an opportunity to view forty-one various art pieces from local and international artists that show how drug policies affect our friends, families and communities.

This ephemeral cultural hub supported by Open Society Foundations was launched last year during the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs. The Museum offers a powerful, emotional experience that illustrates the harms caused by current prohibitionist drug policies and advocates for new approaches rooted in dignity, health, and human rights.

"This exhibit calls attention to the health and human impact of drug policy in ways that research studies and PowerPoint presentations cannot," said Daniel Wolfe, Director of International Harm Reduction Development at the Open Society Foundations. "The artists whose work is displayed here remind us that scientific evidence is not enough, and that we must also open other channels to inspire commitment to make change in how we treat drugs and those who use them."

The Museum of Drug Policy will showcase artwork by contemporary artists, including Tracy Hetzel, watercolor illustrator of the "The Execution Series" portraits, which presents five individuals who have been executed after being convicted of drug offenses, as well as two portraits from the series "At last... rest" that Zefrey Throwell has created from the ashes of his deceased father, Douglas Throwell, which still contain traces of methamphetamine, thereby representing a deeply personal memorial, as well as an account of this drug's lethal effects.

Ann Lewis, a multidisciplinary activist artist also known as Gilf!, will exhibit a unique participatory art piece on the victims of Canada's ongoing opioid crisis. "Through their powerful pieces, artists like Ann Lewis put a sharp focus on realities that would otherwise go unnoticed, as they are hard to visualize and absorb using statistics," said Michael Skolnik, CEO of The Soze Agency, the design firm behind the Museum of Drug Policy. "The idea of exhibiting art pieces in a 'pop-up museum' also reflects Open Society Foundations premise that solutions to these complex issues must be sought through innovative approaches, by thinking outside of the box."

Art pieces by Québec artists who contributed to L'Injecteur, published by the Association québécoise pour la promotion de la santé des personnes utilisatrices de drogues, will also be on display.

This free event, open to the public on May 15-17 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., will take visitors around the world, inciting them to think and act differently. The exhibit will be presented at the Mont-Royal Centre, at 2200 Mansfield St., Montréal.

About the Open Society Foundations

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities in more than 100 countries, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education. www.opensocietyfoundations.org / museumofdrugpolicy.org

To obtain images of this exhibit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pbfwxa8b9is51tb/AADhiNu-ktL_Z5jygaBQTft0a?dl=0

SOURCE Open Society Foundations