Gratitude is Universal
UPDATE 2: On December 22. Museum of Modern Art of Naples opened its doors to a fantastic evening of charity, (more about the concept in the original post below). More than 300 people filled the halls enjoying great food, live music, origami art and the exhibition of 14 of my images from Japan. A last, but heartfelt, Thank You to my great sponsors for making this exhibition possible. The images are now in transit to Denmark, where they will be on display on January 22 in Øksnehallen…
I’ve posted a quick collection of shots from Naples on my Facebook page, head over and have a look http://on.fb.me/wuVsvR
UPDATE: Over the weekend my funding reached 100%, thanks to Booomerang user annriemer. Today the call for help went above and beyond my expectations as the the fantastic guys behind Cheche overfunded the project, to ensure the big prints safe transportation through Europe. Once again I thank you all from the bottom of my heart! More to come…
The image below is just a quick snapshot, but I’d like to share the story behind it with you. (If you’re here to see strong humanitarian photography and visual storytelling, head to my Portfolio, or scroll down after this post).
This image was shot on assignment in Japan with the people from Fuel Relief. As they headed home after a long day distributing free kerosene for heating and light, this woman came down from a small community in the mountains. She asked if she could have some kerosene for herself, and the community, as many were not home and would return to a house without heat, light or hot water. Together with the team from Fuel Relief, she carried heavy loads of kerosene up the steep road. Afterwards she could not stop thanking the team, again and again she would bow and thank them. The team eventually got in the cars, but had to get out again, as she would continue thanking for their generosity towards her community. In the end she knelt down, laying on the dirty road before them. Her gratitude was extraordinary and deeply moving.
If you’ve been following on Twitter and Facebook these last days, you know that I’ve been busy raising awareness of my Crowdfunding project (aka Booomerang in Denmark). I’ve been invited to make an exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art of Naples, Italy, as part of a fundraising event they are hosting in aid of post-disaster rebuilding of Japan. I’m happy and honored to make this happen, as I know the need is great. However, producing prints in a size and quality worthy of the museum and its audience, comes with a decent price tag. In just two days, 92% of the funding needed has been secured! This is astonishing – and I’m now the one being overwhelmed and greatly thankful for the support and trust invested in me. I have full confidence the last 8% will come, and I will move ahead with the project. My heart, and deepest gratitude goes out to my great friends and supporters at Universal Telecom.
The images produced for the Italy exhibition, will also be used in an upcoming exhibition in Øksnehallen in Copenhagen in January 2012. This exhibition will be focused on humanitarian photography and visual storytelling as the strongest platform to increased awareness and funding, for humanitarian and social organizations.
Looking forward to share more with you as the project progress.