BIOGRAPHIES AND COMMENTS OF JUDGES FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S ART COMPETITION

Mr. Robert Gray

Currently the Chief of the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA), New
York, Vienna and Geneva

* Chairman of the UNPA Stamp Advisory Committee
* Diploma of Arts Melbourne Australia
* Previously the Stamp Export and Stamp Production manager of the Australian Postal Commission for 28 years
* Previous member of the Australia Post Stamp Design Committee
* Awarded honor of merit by Australia Post for the development of personalized stamp product
* Previous member of the Australian Art Directors and Printing Club for National and International Annual Exhibition Awards

Comments on the Art Competition:

As the Chief of the United Nations Postal Administration, I am responsible for all stamp images produced and issued for the United Nations. I viewed all the submitted art entries from a creative aspect and then with the technical criteria that each art piece has to be printed in a miniature format to meet the high quality reproduction for postage stamps. I was extremely impressed with the high standard of art submitted from such a diverse group of young artists and they are all to commended for there effort, however, there can only be a small selection of six winners and all judges were unanimous in the final selected artwork to be reproduced as United Nations postage stamps.

Mr. Rocco Callari

Currently the Chief of the Graphic Design Unit of the Outreach Division of the
Department of Public Information

* Chairman of the Working Group on Logos, Publishing Process and Attribution
of Authors
* Member of the Publication Board
* Previously the Chief of the Graphic Design Unit of the UN Postal Administration
* Stamp designer and designer of many philatelic items
* Society of Illustrators 36th Annual National Exhibition Gold Medal winner for Art Direction
* The Art Directors Club 73rd National and 8th International Annual Exhibition Merit Award for Art Direction
* 2006 Graphic Design USA American Inhouse Design Award for Art Direction

Comments on the Art Competition:
As an art director and a designer of stamps, I was very impressed with the level of creativity from such a young group of artists. Some of the creative solutions done for the themes were very impressive. The use of colour and the illustrative expertise was quite amazing. There were several designs that I would have been proud had they been done by my designers. The selected artwork will all make very attractive stamp designs and I am sure will become a very successful stamp issue.

Ms. Teresa Fasolino

Teresa Fasolino lives and works in her Gramercy Park studio in New York City, adjacent to the School of Visual Arts, her alma mater, where she presently teaches courses on Illustration and the History of Illustration.

She was raised and educated in Westchester before attending the School of Visual Arts, where she studied with Robert Weaver, Marshall Arisman and other
contemporary artists and illustrators.

Teresa Fasolino has worked for most of the major magazines, publishers and advertising agencies, evolving and developing her particular and recognizable style of illustrative painting. In addition to working in the print media, she has worked with architects and space designers, creating paintings for restaurants at the World Trade Center, and an 8-foot mural of "Famous Italian Noses" for The"Trattoria Dell'Arte restaurant in New York City.

Some of her well-known clients include: The United Nations Postal Service; (City Summit Habitat II: Endangered Species). Milton Glaser Inc, The New York
Times Magazine, TV Guide, The Penguin Group, Warner Books, Saint Martin's Press, Tor Books, Harcourt, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Nabisco, Grand Union and the U.S. State Department. She has also created stamp designs (Aquarium Fish) for the United States Postal Service.

Her paintings have been exhibited numerous times at major New York art galleries, including "Women in Illustration: Contemporary Visions and Voices" at the Norman Rockwell Museum, "Hothouse Contemporary Floras" at the New York Academy of Sciences", " 200 Years of American Illustration" at the New York Historical Society and the "Art for Survival" exhibit" for the United Nations Environmental Program, "Pushing the Envelope", The Art of the Postage Stamp, at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the Society of Illustrators, The Smithsonian, and the collections of Nabisco and Grand Union as well as private collections. She is also a member of the first Illustrators Advisory Board of the Norman Rockwell Museum.

Comments on the Art Competition:
Always engaging, often skillful beyond expectation and sometimes revealing of
a national style or tradition, the artwork embodies the hopes and dreams of the world’s children for the eradication of poverty.

Ms. Mary Ellen Hostak

Mary Ellen Hostak, ATD Fourth World Representative, Children's Performance
Artist.

For the past 18 years, she has been a supporter and friend of the Fourth World Movement, an anti-poverty organization that seeks solutions to eradicate extreme poverty, and works in partnership with people who are themselves affected by poverty. Worked in a variety of capacities, including participation in Street Libraries, Children's Summer Street Festivals, Theatre Productions, Meetings and October 17th Ceremonies at the United Nations.

Director and Performer - Company's Coming! Children's Entertainment, a multifaceted entertainment company featuring musical puppet shows for very young children, and participatory story puppet shows for older children. Designed and taught Early Childhood Music, Theatre and Puppetry Programs throughout New York City.

Co-designed and co-taught Workshops for Early Childhood Educators at a
conference in Caldwell College to encourage educators to use participatory
storytelling as a teaching tool. 4 years touring Children's Puppet Shows
throughout the United States with Pegasus Productions (now Encore Productions) and Poko Puppets.

Comments on the Art Competition:
I was very touched by the depth of thought and sensitivity that was depicted in the beautiful artwork done by the children. The pictures presented so many aspects of life in poverty, yet they also demonstrated the enormous hope offered by things like working together, education, caring for and supporting each other, and acceptance of differences. I was especially touched by the children's understanding that it is through a sense of partnership that so much can be achieved. There were many beautiful drawings of children connected to children all around the world, sharing not only basic necessities, but also many things of the heart. We have so many things to learn from these children!

Ms. Renata Kaczmarska

Associate Social Affairs Officer, Division for Social Policy and Development,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Co-organizer of the International Children’s Art Competition. Currently works in Social Perspective on Development Branch dealing with issues of poverty and employment. She is responsible for research on social affairs, contributing to the Secretary-General’s reports to the General Assembly and the Commission for Social Development and provides support to the intergovernmental process dealing with social development matters. Previously worked in the Department of Public Information and the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management.

Comments on the Art Competition:
Working on the Children’s Art Competition was a rewarding and moving experience. I was impressed both by the quality of children’s artwork and thoughtfulness in the descriptions of their designs. I realized that, despite their young age, children are strikingly aware of many causes of poverty around the world, such as inequality, discrimination, lack of education, insufficient aid and the persistence of armed conflict. Their designs emanate dire awareness of poverty combined with the deep empathy for the poor. The solutions offered by the children to end poverty are mostly based on human solidarity. Children believe that poverty can be eradicated through ‘caring and sharing’ and that people have to unite against it. They tell us that richer countries should help the poorer ones, as much as wealthy individuals should help those in need. Many children are convinced that education will lead them out of poverty. Many are eager to help their parents earn extra money to improve their quality of life. Children’s artwork truly represents the hope for poverty-free world of tomorrow.