Portrait of the world

 But for this American artist, travelling is not about staying in hotels, visiting well-known tourist sites and taking typical, touristy photographs. Bennett likes to visit remote places inhabited by indigenous tribes and to live among the local people and understand their unique cultures, traditions and ways of life. In Australia he made friends with the Aborigines and participated in their tribal ceremonies. He has attended weddings in the Maldives and funerals in Myanmar. He has spent a year among the Himba and Kung people of Namibia and lived in Papua New Guinea for several months. Bennett shares his experiences of the diversity of human life with people around the globe through the stunning portraits he paints during his travels. He has brought a selection of these portraits to Dubai for an exhibition titled Uniting through Portraiture.

"I am a portrait painter because of my passion for the world's people. Through my portraits I want to show that every person of every race and culture is interconnected, indispensable and radiant with astonishing beauty. My aim is to help promote and preserve native cultures around the world and to create global understanding between people of different cultures," he says.

Bennett's subjects range from an Aboriginal didgeridoo maker in Yirkilla, Australia and a fruit seller in Mexico to a witch doctor in Tahiti and a tribal dancer in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Every face has been lovingly recreated on his huge canvases. With detailed strokes and vivid colours, the artist has captured not only the essence of every personality but also a flavour of the culture they represent. And the soulful faces draw you into their world, providing insights into exotic cultures and lifestyles and yet highlighting our common humanity.

"I always look for people who represent a culture and express it positively. I have seen how important cultural identity is for emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Knowing where one has come from, one's traditions and role in the community defines a person and makes them feel grounded," he says. It is not easy to befriend strangers, especially when language is a barrier. But Bennett has learnt to break the ice by using body language and humour to penetrate beyond the surface and become part of the community. "All my paintings are about people with whom I have had powerful and positive encounters. The colours are chosen intuitively and express my feelings about the person and my memories of my experiences with them," he says.

Journey of learning

Bennett's unusual journey began in 1993, when he decided to take a break from his work as a graphic designer and cinema art director in New York and went off to Mexico. He lived in a small house in a fishing village and painted portraits of the villagers. Many children came to watch and he encouraged them to paint with him. Bennett loved the wild colours the children used and decided to fill his own portraits with bright colours, thus developing his signature style. At the end of his stay, Bennett held an exhibition of his portraits at the local cultural centre. That changed his life.

"The people I had painted came to see the exhibition along with their families and friends and they were so proud that I had chosen to paint them. I felt good [that I had given them] that pride and confidence in themselves. I decided to explore this further by painting the people I met on my travels and then inviting everyone I can to see the portraits. My mission is to celebrate diversity, educate people about different cultures and to bring them together through art," Bennett says.

"I particularly want to exhibit my work in my country because I want Americans to understand that the world is a safe and friendly place and by fearing people who are different from them, they are losing out on many enriching experiences. My own experiences have taught me that what you experience when travelling is exactly what you expect to happen. So you must be careful about your own fears and have trust in others. For instance, after reading about the violent tribes in Papua New Guinea I was scared to go there and sure enough, I was attacked by thieves. But I understood that I had created that experience with my own fears. And the wonderful thing is that the loving, friendly children who held my hands and invited me to play with them helped me heal, enabling me to travel fearlessly throughout the country and learn about the more than 600 tribes living there," he adds.

Bennett believes that it is most important to convey his message to children and prefers to hold his exhibitions in schools. He also tries to encourage children to take up art by conducting workshops in schools. Bennett has also established an organisation called Faces of the World, through which he organises art workshops for children of indigenous tribes around the world. In Dubai, he is holding art workshops at Repton School and is also keen to take private commissions for individual and family portraits. And, as usual, he does not know where his next stop will be. "I would love to travel to India, sail up the Nile, visit the Amazon and the Laplanders in Finland. But I never plan. I just wait till I find a connection that will take me to these places to discover another culture and make new friends," he says.

Jyoti Kalsi is a UAE-based art enthusiast.

Uniting Through Portraiture will be on at The Arch gallery, Repton School, Dubai, until November 27.

Faces of the World

Faces of the World is a non-profit organisation committed to assist in preserving and empowering indigenous peoples through art, education and cultural exchange. As director of the organisation, Stephen Bennett has visited more than 20 countries, including Brunei, Mexico, Saint Martin, Panama, French Polynesia, the Seychelles, Tanzania and Australia, and facilitated art workshops for thousands of children. The workshops teach children self-reliance and pride in their unique and valuable heritage, traditional crafts and customs. The organisation also promotes cultural exchange between the host country and the United States through exhibitions of portrait paintings by children, artists and local craftsmen. These exhibitions are used to inform the public about the host countries' unique people. Faces of the World works to preserve and celebrate indigenous culture by promoting education, cultural pride, ethno-eco-tourism and creating a lasting record of fragile cultures. The organisation is funded by proceeds from the sale of Bennett's paintings, donations and sponsorship.

The United Nations Postal Administration has featured Bennett's World Portraits in their 2009 Indigenous People postage stamps. The series of 18 stamps was issued in three countries in as many languages at the United Nations offices in Austria, Switzerland and the United States.