William Kelly (artist)

William Kelly is an American artist, humanist and human-rights advocate. He was born in Buffalo, New York and received his artistic training at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and the National Gallery School in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). He is also a Fulbright Fellow and former Dean of the Victorian College of the Arts in Australia.

In addition to creating traditional prints, drawings and paintings, Kelly has organized and participated in collaborations in public art and theatre. Kelly promotes his humanist ideals in his art, for example, in response to a 1987 mass murder in Melbourne, Kelly spent five years on works for an installation titled "The Peace Project." "The Peace Project" was first exhibited in 1993 in both Melbourne and Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first visual art project to receive the Australian Violence Prevention Award.

Kelly authored an anthology, "Violence to Nonviolence: Individual Perspectives, Communal Voices", that was published in 1994. His artwork has also appeared in other books, such as "Cultures of Crime and Violence: The Australian Experience" and Women's "Encounters with Violence".

In 2000 Kelly founded the Archive of Humanist Art, which highlights prints and drawings of artists from all over the world that address humanist concerns. He currently has studios in Melbourne and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

For his role as an international artist, humanist, human rights advocate, and founder of the Archive of Humanist Art, Kelly received the Courage of Conscience Award from The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts [http://www.peaceabbey.org/awards/cocrecipientlist.html] .

External links

* [http://www.humanistart.com/ Archive of Humanist Art]
* [http://www.peaceabbey.org/awards/cocrecipientlist.html The Peace Abbey]