Illustrator & TED Fellow George Butler on Why He Draws in Conflict Zones

Award-winning reportage artist and TED Fellow George Butler draws in ink and watercolour in war zones, refugee camps and disaster areas all over the world telling poignant, human stories we rarely hear on the news.

His testimonies of ordinary people capture courage, resilience, strength and moments of hope, introducing us to real characters behind the headlines.

George has drawn in a leprosy clinic in Nepal; spent time with The Hazda tribe in Tanzania who work with honeyguide birds, and most recently has been sketching in Aleppo and Damascus in Syria where Action Syria - a charity he co-founded - funds doctors and teachers. 

 

Photograph by Mauricio Gris

Petro collecting books after a missile strike - Kramatorsk, Ukraine

Photograph by Bram Janssen

Matriarch & great-grandmother 99-year-old Madame Olga - Kyiv, Ukraine

Photography by Tim Brown

 

 

 

 

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