Press Release
Update
On Wednesday 3 December, Belgian artist and activist Pierre Mertens will launch the Covers for the World project. In Moshi, he connects art with accessible care and equal partnership. Curated by Edith Doove, the launch of the project coincides with the opening of Child-Help International’s SHARE Global Knowledge Centre for Accessible Care in Moshi. From there, Covers for the World will continue to develop in both the Global South and the Global North.
Decolonisation in art and care
An important pillar of the project is the decolonial reinterpretation of Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Pierre Mertens created a first version of this as part of the East African Biennale in 2008 with Ricardo Brey (Cu), Willo Gonissen and Mulugeta Tafesse (Et). Their version is now confronted with a version created entirely by Tanzanian artists Prince John Hugo, Lightness Jonas, David Valerian Lay and Lilian Munuo. With this, Covers for the World aims to launch itself as a global art initiative that addresses decolonisation in both art and healthcare. In addition, Kazakh photographer Daniil Zozulya, who lives in Belgium, will show a selection of photos from a project on spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Uganda and also document the new project.
As founder of Child-Help, Pierre Mertens has been working for decades to give children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in the Global South the same access to surgery, continence care and dignity as in the Global North. His art and activism are intertwined: as part of the Covers for the World project, he is bringing more than 4,000 of his drawings, made daily since 2014, to the art market, with his entire share going to the new knowledge centre in Moshi.
Interview with Lightness Jonas
Interview with Daniil Zosuleya
Photo reportage by Daniil Zosuleya (1)
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Back to Africa: Pierre Mertens returns Picasso’s masks to their source
*Launch of Covers for the World in Moshi, Tanzania*
Moshi (Tanzania), December 3, 2025 – Artist and activist Pierre Mertens unites art and care in a bold de-colonial gesture. The African masks that inspired Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon of 1907, return to Africa, where four Tanzanian artists will reinterpret the iconic painting. This act marks the launch of Covers for the World, a global art initiative that addresses decolonization in both art and health care.
Curated by Edith Doove, the launch coincides with the opening of the 16th House of Hope and the SHARE Global Knowledge Centre for Accessible Care by Child-Help International. From Moshi, Covers for the World will further develop across the Global South and the Global North.
Decolonization in art and care
Where Picasso was inspired by African art from a Western, and thus at the time, colonial, perspective, Covers for the World deliberately gives art and agency back. Four Tanzanian artists – Prince John Hugo, Lightness Jonas, David Valerian Mlay and Lilian Munuo – will create their own covers of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, rewriting the history of modernism from their perspective.
This decolonial gesture mirrors Mertens’ lifelong mission in care. As founder of Child-Help International, he has worked for decades to ensure that children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in Africa receive the same access to surgery, continence management, and dignity as those in the Global North. He achieved this by explicitly ensuring that the organization was built with and supported by the beneficiaries themselves and run by local professionals. Mertens’ art and activism are deeply intertwined: more than 4,000 drawings, created daily since 2014, are now entering the art market, with his entire share of the proceeds of their sale supporting the new SHARE Knowledge Centre in Moshi.
A personal drive: art as care
Mertens’ work is inseparable from his personal story. His daughter Liesje was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Her short life shaped his art and led him to found Child-Help International, which now provides life-saving care to thousands of children.
“I am both an artist and an activist. The loss of my daughter Liesje gave me my mission: to transform grief into action, and art into care. What children like Liesje received in Europe – surgery, closeness, dignity – I wish for every child.” – Pierre Mertens
What happens in Moshi on December 3, 2025
– Procession with mothers, children, artists and collaborators from the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) to the 16th House of Hope – Opening of the 16th House of Hope and SHARE Global Knowledge Centre for Accessible Care – Les Demoiselles d’Avignon reinterpreted by African artists Tanzanian artists Prince John Hugo, Lightness Jonas, David Valerian Mlay, and Lilian Munuo.
– A public mural created with two Tanzanian artists and Pierre, names to be confirmed.
– Moringa trees planted in the garden of SHARE as sculptures of solidarity, inspired by Joseph Beuys’ 7000 Oaks and in refernce to Pierre Mertens’ Moringa Project (Belgium, 2002).
– African Heroes: Kanga cloths on which the lifelines of a hand are combined with the map of Dar es Salaam and a star chart. The names of the stars have been replaced by the names of African heroes.
Press invitation
We will organize a press conference in the week of 24 November in Moshi – date and time to be confirmed. Journalists are also welcome on December 3 to attend the launch and to meet Pierre Mertens (artist & activist), Edith Doove (curator), the participating African artists Prince John Hugo, Lightness Jonas, David Valerian Mlay, Lilian Munuo, and Mrs. Janet Manoni, director of Child-Help International. The project can also be followed online, and professional photographs will be available for publication.
Practical info & contact:
Press conference, time and place to be confirmed
December 3, 2025 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities – Covers for the World
Location: Moshi, Tanzania – 16th House of Hope, public space – SHARE Global Knowledge Centre, Makongoro Street, Shanty Town, Moshi Town, Kilimanjaro
The exhibition at SHARE can be visited after the opening by appointment during office hours (8 am-4 pm)
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