Stephen Bennett is the Director of Faces of the World.
He is also a portrait painter who makes annual trips around
the world to paint portraits of indigenous peoples. Young,
old, joyful, and withered faces populate these vibrant
canvases, celebrating a variety of ethnic strains in a
tapestry painted with strong brushwork. Stephen's objective
is to share his experiences of the diversity of human life.
For the last 10 years his work has been used to promote
and preserve native cultures in the United States, Brunei,
Mexico, Saint Martin, Panama, French Polynesia, the Seychelles,
Tanzania and Australia. He extends an invitation to everyone
to suggest new ways in which his work can
be used as a
forum for cultural awareness.
In 2002 he spent a year painting
the Himba and Kung (San) peoples of Namibia. In 2003
he circumnavigated Australia to learn about, and paint
its
people. During his time in Australia he worked as a volunteer
teaching indigenous children at the Croc Festivals. This
three-month tour allowed him to teach portrait painting
workshops to over four thousand children.
Stephen has keen sense of observation, and a fine sensitivity
to draw the beauty of a face and the strength of
a look.
He succeeds in his artistic endeavors thanks to his appreciation
of human differences, his generosity, and his desire
to understand others. He has a special ability to express
and bring light to a face by his play with colors.
For
Stephen, a face is a treasure.
His vision is education
through art on a global scale. Stephen is driven by
a desire
to complete an international exhibition of 1000 portraits
from the world over, painted by his own hand. This
enormous project is ambitious, but needed at a time when
the world
is particularly conflicted. The common thread throughout
his work is to show the beauty in the human face, and
beauty is his universal theme that ties us all together.
Stephen
is founder of “Faces of the World,” a non-profit
organization in the United States with a mission of increasing
cultural pride and affirming the importance of indigenous
cultures. “Faces of the World” is funded from
the sale of Bennett’s paintings, donations and sponsorship. |
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