Tapestries

“The Flying Man” Tapestry in honour of Václav Havel by Peter Sís. Photo: Art for Human Rights/Bill Shipsey.

Art for Human Rights has partnered with a number of artists to honour human rights heroes through monumental Aubusson tapestries.

Since 2012, Art for Human Rights has conceived, commissioned and produced fourteen monumental memorial hand made tapestries to honour people including Martin Luther King Jr., Václav Havel, Seamus Heaney, Nelson Mandela, John Lennon and the people of Colombia and Greece.

Eleven of the tapestries were designed by New York-based Czech artist Peter Sís. The tapestry for Colombia, “The Musicians”, was designed by Fernando Botero, the one for Greece “I love Greece”, by Sophia Vari and “El Holocausto” was made after a mural created in 1945 by Mexican painter Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. 

All but one were woven at the acclaimed tapestry maker Ateliers Pinton in Felletin-Aubusson, France.

Tapestry in honour of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr by Petr Sís. Photo: Bill Shipsey.
Peter Sís’s Tapestry for civil rights. Photo: Bill Shipsey.

The tapestries, produced with the support of artists including Bono and The Edge of U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Yoko Ono, Paul Simon and John Legend, can be found in airports and museums of memory and art around the world. 

The project was made possible thanks to the contribution of global artists. Photo: Edu Bayer..
A tapestry of Fernando Botero’s “The Musicians” is currently exhibited at Bogota’s International Airport. Photo: Bill Shipsey.
Peter Sís designed 11 of the tapestries. Photo: Bill Shipsey.
The tapestries were woven at Ateliers Pinton in Felletin-Aubusson, France. Photo: Sandra Rocha.
“Flying Madiba” was designed by Peter Sís in honour of Nelson Mandela. Photo: Bill Shipsey.
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