ARTE ALTRUISME - INTRODUCTION

Altruism - the counterfoil to Egoisme 

Altruism is the  selfless concern for the well-being of others. It is one of the universally admired qualities of humanity. It is sadly also one of the rarest. In contrast, it seems egoisme is rampant and even celebrated in modern life. 

Many of the deep-seated problems we witness today have their roots in this imbalance - we put our own needs and desires first and foremost all too often, without consideration of the consequences for others, locally and internationally, at present and in the future.

So, what can we do as individuals do to help counter this trend? In theory there are many options, such as early education, social messaging and both supportive and restraining regulations. However by its nature, altruism is not something that can be forced or sold -  it instead needs to be seeded, motivated and inspired. On the theme of inspiration, one idea that I support  is  the power of  positive and practical examples and altruistic role models. 

The Art Altruism Project is a small scale, multi-year artistic and social demonstration project that aims to test this idea.  Its ambitious  and experimental primary goal is the promotion of altruistic behaviour, in the French Alpine region and beyond.  Its pragmatic secondary goal to support tourism and outdoor recreation our region. It will try to achieve all of this through  a combination of a) high profile practical demonstrations: the gifting of artwork by myself and other artists and b) linked communications. 

The project evolved from a series of outdoor artworks that I created over the period 2021 – 2023 and donated to my home village of Bluffy, Haute Savoie. I am expanding and organizing the project and propose to develop and launch something new once a year, hopefully for the next five years.