Argenta House decorated with Olympic-themed anti-racism murals

Ari Norman, whose company manufactures sterling silver jewellery, commissioned the project on the walls of his building to pay tribute to the athletes who have been involved in the highlighting of racial and civil issues at the Olympic Games.

Of the three panels, one represents the 1972 Games in Munich, during which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered; one depicts John Carlos, Tommie Smith and Peter Norman’s stand for the Olympic Project for Human Rights, otherwise known as the Black Power salute, from 1968; and one shows Jesse Owens’ Nazi-defying gold medal haul at the Berlin Games of 1936.

“I have wanted to do something like this for two years,” said Ari Norman, whose family lost around 600 members in the Holocaust. “I believe in the true original spirit of the Olympics of fair competition among all races and all nations. Unfortunately the issue of race and equality becomes very clouded in the politics of the Olympics, so we chose to commemorate three Olympiads at which racial strife was highlighted.”

Ari commissioned his son Lee’s fashion company to carry out the project. Plans are in place to have lights installed above the panels so they will be on display 24 hours a day.