George McBean: Retrospective Exhibition at the Oxford Human Rights Festival

Dear friends and colleagues from the XUNICEFers family. I'm very aware that my 36 years of association with UNICEF -as an art and design officer and head of graphics and animation in NYHQ is somewhat unique in the sense that I have kept a reference copy of everything I ever designed and created visually for UNICEF. This is now quite a substantial collection of visual materials, films and animation. Much of this is now on view on my (not for profit) website.

Like many of you I experienced a few mindless moments from supervisors and senior figures in my UNICEF years- while passing slowly up the ranks. One such moment was after I left the Nepal office and was working in a new duty station - I heard that a new incoming Rep to Nepal had thrown out all the original artwork and master copies of several film I'd made - so he could use the store room cupboard for a new set of pamphlets. I later heard similar stories from several other communication colleagues in the field - that their own countries historic collection of graphics and photos were also routinely dumped each time a new Rep reorganised their offices. I came to realise that outside of UNICEF NYHQ most Field Offices did not keep their collections or libraries of pat graphic and photos in good order. Much has been lost.


After retiring and returning to Scotland I was very fortunate to have the work that I'd created and saved (in some cases the only VHS copies of films that remain) featured in a Retrospective exhibition at the Oxford Human Rights Festival. I have now loaded this exhibit in its entirety onto my website which I use for distance learning and backup for talks I give to animation students. I've also included some anecdotes and family pics which have proved popular with young students beginning a career in functional animation for public health.

I hope you will see this web-site as a tribute to all our work... since it covers part of the time many of us were working together. (I've already received some nice reviews from UNICEF HQ.) But ultimately I hope it serves to encourage UNICEF field offices to keep better records of their past communication products. They represent a visual record of the issues and the successes that UNICEF has made. I know from my time in New York there are some past creations which should never go on show ( ie- film of Danny Kaye spraying African children with DDT- comes to mind!) but for most issues - it's these types of visual communication products from the past that today has more opportunity to be seen with today technology and to impress the public with UNICEF's past work.

Explore enjoy and share as you feel fit. https://www.georgemcbean.com/retrospective

Yours sincerely

George McBean