LONDON, 3 June 2021: WePresent, the editorial platform of WeTransfer, presents AMAKABA: a vision for collective healing by artist Tabita Rezaire. From atop the Amazonian rainforest of French Guiana, Rezaire shares her vision to build a center for the arts and science of the earth, body and sky. She offers a holistic way of living that encourages all to reacquaint themselves with the wisdom of the land. It forms the final instalment of Groundwork: a creative series by WePresent that documents the behind-the-scenes research into artists’ new works for Back to Earth, Serpentine’s multi-year environmental programme.

Available exclusively on WePresent, Rezaire unravels her rich spiritual and ancestral philosophy, as she presents AMAKABA from her father’s native home in French Guiana. Through a multidisciplinary lens, Rezaire brings together art, spirituality and science, in her journey of cacao farming, yoga, birth and womb guidance, to propose a means of living in balance with nature, which will be upheld at the physical AMAKABA healing centre that she is currently building.  A four minute film made up of captivating scenes filmed in the South American forest depicts ceremonial offerings, astronomical observations weaved with farming, drumming and dancing. With a nod to ancestors and feminine power, it sees the artist as an environmental and spiritual activist. 

As part of the Groundwork series, WePresent invites the public to donate to a charity chosen by the featured artist, with WeTransfer doubling these donations up to 30,000€. Rezaire will raise funds to birth a home for AMAKABA that will serve as a healing and educational centre to share Amazonian wisdoms - both for local and international communities. 

Donations can be made via the WePresent feature and a dedicated wallpaper on the WeTransfer site. This philanthropic initiative continues WeTransfer’s commitment to cultivating the artistic community while supporting global climate justice. Every year, WeTransfer donates up to 30% of advertising real estate to raise awareness for artists, creative work and the world’s most pressing issues. The company announced its prestigious B Corporation certification in 2020 and became a Climate Neutral Certified service in 2021. 

Holly Fraser, Editor in Chief of WePresent said: “As WeTransfer’s digital arts platform to 4m monthly visitors in 190 countries, WePresent scours the globe to bring unexpected stories to the fore through our commissions. For the final instalment of Groundwork in collaboration with Serpentine, WePresent follows Tabita Rezaire to her ancestral home of French Guiana to immerse ourselves in her holistic way of living. Guided by the wisdom of the Amazon rainforest, Tabita’s AMAKABA centre teaches us that spirituality is, in its essence, a profound form of creativity and that we can restore our natural balance and way of being by healing ourselves through harmony with the natural world”.

Tabita Rezaire, artist said: "I'm so grateful for the love and support from the Groundwork and Back to Earth teams. As I have called upon abundance in all its forms to guide me towards Amakaba's blossoming, this collaboration is definitely a blessing in this journey.”

Bettina Korek, Chief Executive, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine said: “Tabita Rezaire’s contribution to Back to Earth focuses on balance and healing, and it is a fitting way to end the Groundwork series, which we have been so pleased to work on with WePresent. We are grateful to all the artists and to WeTransfer for joining us in this experiment testing how art can operate in the service of environmental justice.”

*ENDS*

AMAKABA for Groundwork, presented by WePresent in collaboration with Serpentine is live on WePresent here

ASSETS

Image sheet available here created via Paste by WeTransfer and available to download here

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Julia.Huff@purplepr.com 

Priya.Suman@purplepr.com 

About WePresent

WePresent is WeTransfer’s editorial platform, acting as the company’s cultural torchbearer and curator of creativity to 4m monthly readers in 190 countries. WePresent showcases the best in art, photography, music, and more, offering readers a fresh take on the magic and mystery of creative ideas. Championing diversity in everything it does, WePresent scours the globe for unexpected stories about creativity, from emerging young talent to renowned artists like Marina Abramovic, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, John Legend, Tyler Mitchell, Björk, FKA twigs, and Bernardine Evaristo.

https://wepresent.wetransfer.com 

 About WeTransfer

Having made its name in the game of quick and simple file-sharing, WeTransfer has grown into an end-to-end suite of digital solutions with more than 80 million monthly active users in 190 countries. WeTransfer’s set of tools are specifically designed to enable creative professionals to inspire, conceive, share, and deliver their work. Collect is the go-to app people turn to for saving and sharing inspiration. Paste® is the collaborative presentation tool of choice for fast-moving teams. Paper® helps creative minds sketch, paint, and draw on iOS. And of course there’s the original file-sharing platform. The company celebrates and inspires its global creative community on WePresent, WeTransfer’s editorial platform to 4m monthly readers. 

As a certified B Corporation WeTransfer strives to use business as a force for good. Since the beginning WeTransfer has donated up to 30% of advertising real estate to raise awareness for artists, creative work, and the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change and gun control. This amounts to more than $300 million to date and has led to partnerships with artists and organizations like Marina Abramovic, Björk, FKA twigs, Ryan McGinley, Solange Knowles, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and the UN Development Program.

https://about.wetransfer.com/

 About Serpentine

Championing new ideas in contemporary art since 1970, Serpentine has presented pioneering exhibitions for half a century, from a wide range of emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists of our time.

Across two sites only 5 minutes apart, in London’s Kensington Gardens, Serpentine presents a year-round, free programme of exhibitions, architecture, education, live events and technological innovation, in the park and beyond.

Proud to maintain free access for all visitors, thanks to its unique location Serpentine reaches an exceptionally broad audience and maintains a deep connection with its local community. 

Serpentine’s long term environmental programme Back to Earth investigates questions like: How can art respond to the climate crisis? What can artists contribute at this moment of global emergency? Each Back to Earth project also doubles an environmental campaign, from speculative investigations on one side of the spectrum, to concrete activism on the other.  

To find out more about Back to Earth, explore campaigns from artists including Olafur Eliasson, Maria Theresa Alves and Judy Chicago with Jane Fonda and Swoon.