In January 2017, motivated by a political climate that took me to the Women’s March in DC and numerous demonstrations in NYC, I decided to use photography as a tool for protest.
The first project in late January was for ‘Proof Media for Social Justice‘ – a photo workshop with ‘Girl Be Heard‘, portraits and a MashUp (thanks to artist Cey Adams) ‘Girl Be Heard’ empowers young women to fight for social justice issues affecting their communities—from sexual abuse to gun violence. The portraits were exhbited in a gallery in Dumbo in September.
April, my friend Julie Grahame (aCurator.com) and I decided to do a benefit for the Southern Poverty Law Center. We reached out to our friends in the photo community to donate a print to support the SPLC’s fight against domestic hate groups and other extremists. Photographers like Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper, Danny Clinch, Joe Conzo, Debra Feingold, Josh Cheuse, Chalkie Davis and so many more all donated work which we sold for $100 a print. We sold over 70 pieces of art in one day.
In December I went to Athens, Greece, with Proof to do a photo workshop with women refugees who live in the anarchist run City Plaza hotel. An intense experience, so glad to have perhaps changed some of their lives. We taught them how to take a good photo and gave them cameras, kindly sponsored by Fuji, to document their lives.
Last but not least happy to take a portrait of ‘Gilbert’ for my good friends at Photoville to help them fund their community programs, the Photoville exhbition, public art photo fences and year-round Education Programs, serving hundreds of students and educators across the city.. The motto ‘Hustle & Hope’ is perfect for 2018.