Green Leaf Artist Awards

Artists play a critical role in generating dialogue about particular environmental issues. The “Green Leaf Artist Awards” celebrate artistic excellence in inspiring and engaging the public in environmental awareness and action. Rewarding excellence in creativity as a tool to communicate the importance of conservation is the essence of these awards. The Green Leaf Awards are presented to artists whose works of art in the "Art for the Environment" exhibition exceptionally demonstrate the featured environmental topic for each UN World Environment Day. Creative excellence is honored in the following five categories:

World Environment Day 2006 Winners
Deserts and Desertification - Don’t Desert Drylands

Sculpture	Painting	Photography	Multi-Media	Conceptual
S. Rida (Algeria) Ascending Desert bronze	Valentina Pavlovskaya (Algeria) Karkabaou acrylic	Andreas Lang  (Germany)  Untitled Desert IV elatin silver print	Jacobi McKean (USA) Africa video	Justin Young (USA)  Marinda Tree  tree, clay

World Environment Day
Green Cities - Plan for the Planet

Sculpture	Painting	Photography	Multi-Media	Conceptual
Kerri Stephens (USA) Mother Earth bronze	Jorge Mayol (Argentina) Kestral Pair acrylic	Subhankar Banerjee (India) ANWR photo	Sam Easterson (USA) Spider Cam video	JC Didier (France)  Trapped Inside  tree, electronics

Art for the Environment is not just an art movement, it is a social movement. Creative expression is how we humans have turned our concepts and beliefs into action. It is hoped that in the process of sharing the artists' deep sensitivity to the plight of the planet, in works of art ranging from traditional forms to multimedia visions, we can promote a deeper understanding and connection to the natural world. The leaf symbolizes happiness and prosperity, and a wreath of laurels, such as on UNEP’s logo, designates an ensemble of people, or a community, that is united in action and thought. The goal of the Green Leaf Artist Award is to build a global community that celebrates a creative vision of unity on earth through the arts.