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The Back Story:
While not everyone survived this immense tragedy, those that have are trying to sort out their lives by asking questions on which way to turn, how to move forward, where to find work and what to do with themselves as they deal with the enormous pain of having lost loved ones underneath the debris. Still, more pressing questions remain. Where will I sleep tonight? Where can I find something to eat? Is my family safe tonight while they sleep and how do I take care of my babies when I have nothing left to give.
As the tragedy in Haiti left the news cycle to be replaced by the Grammys on one end to the next major catastrophe in Chile on the other and now Japan, its difficult for humanitarian relief and development organizations to keep people interested, to avoid donor fatigue, with what is a simple message that over a year later, people still need our help. Throughout my work around the globe, the needs of men women and children are enormous, many of which will go unseen, silent and will simply drift into the background, filler behind the latest new calamity on the news wire service.
As an experienced advertising photographer and veteran of numerous campaigns throughout the developing world, I was invited to Jacmel on the southern coastline of Haiti by well-respected organizations, The Paradigm Project and Medair, both working in country to help improve the human condition, who challenged me to create images that supported the message of HOPE.
For the most part, images coming out of Haiti were fairly dire in nature. The news teams had left and the rare opportunity to conceptualize a series of iconic images, which had optimism and dignity at their center, lay ahead. I wanted to create a series of photographs which hadnt been attempted before, at least not in a relief setting, which would show the vitality and spirit which is the Haitian people, if only for a brief moment, to visually break through the daily feed of buildings, bodies and despair. To that end, a combination of advertising technique and over a decade of field experience enabled the creation of a collection of poignant portraits, which captured the imagination and have the potential to inspire people to play their part. Internationally recognized, The Pink Door Photographs represent a significant, responsible body of work, untraditional in concept, illumination or compositionis unlike any work currently in the media surrounding the Haitian disaster and their sole purpose is to raise attention to what are vulnerable times for the Haitian people.
All of my 45 subjects are survivors having lost friends and family, jobs, dreams and a lifetime of possessions. They were invited to come to Reggies home, a humble home, a place with a pink door and blue walls that was located down an alleyway at the dark end of the neighborhood. They were asked to bring something, if they liked, salvaged from the debris to take into their future home once out of the IDP camps with many simply saying, All that I have left is myself. So an ad hoc group comprised of hip hop artists, musicians, painters, humble men and women in the best clothes they had, posing teenagers and playing children, friends, family a neighborhood and this photographer, who amongst the rubble and the grief together in the dark of nightcould be heard laughing and singing old Bob Marley songs.
And for just one moment, we all forgot about the damage, the mosquitoes, the oppressive heat and yeah, for a moment, we even forgot the earthquake. And while we didnt solve the worlds troubles, we realized that were not that different from one another. And those nights down at Reggies, spent with special souls who came as strangers and left as friends, expect us to do something with the images we created. So its their message, that as a nation and as individuals, they are proud and refuse to be defined by images of dead bodies, massive amounts of rubble or mountains of statistics. The very least that I could do was to create images full of dignity, to give them respect, to listen to their stories, to laugh and yeah to cry with them, and to help shoulder the weight they carry in the midst of such great loss.
The exhibition in London, the creation of The Pink Door Photographs in March of 2010, have been produced to help raise awareness, not to their plight but to recognize the hope that lies deep within the human spirit. This collection of photographs has been created to lend a voice that there is much more to this fantastic culture than what weve seen in print and online.
In partnership with The Paradigm Project, The Pink Door Photographs will show in London at the end of June. The goal is to educate, raise awareness and associate with others who are doing good work throughout the country and to possibly inspire others to bring their talents to the table to help others in need. Not out of guilt, but from a place within that stimulates our conscience that its the right thing to do.
Medair, United Haitians in the United Kingdom, Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital, Lords and Ministers, relief and development groupsmany top tier organizations have been invited to share the evening with us, to focus the public on the work these groups have accomplished and to seek partners for the long road ahead. Nearly 16 months have passed and Haiti is still digging out from the earthquake with many still living in squalor, inside makeshift camps with no foreseeable change in sight.
Rodney Rascona, 2011 Lucie International Photographer of the Year: Deeper Perspective
The Impact
London is the first international city where the collection can have an enormous impact on the press, visiting politicians, policy makers, clergy, ministers, delegates from other nations, international organizations and grass root start ups. The Pink Door Photographs will give all of them a reason to speak optimistically of the Haitian people. And if it accomplishes this, and people step up to play their part, there is no amount of money collected that could pay for such a valuable, such a priceless moment shared for those seeking friends and partners for the hard days to come in helping a country get back on it's feet. In this, those of you who elect to help with a donation, you will be joining with Rodney on his 16 month effort to show another side to the Haitian people.
The first exhibition was held in June of 2010 to a packed house in Phoenix Arizona. The first show ever for Rodney, it was a huge task which was supported by individuals with gift in kind donations to the generous support from the show sponsors, The Paradigm Project and Medair. If you have time, please visit the old blog for that show at www.thepinkdoorphotographs.blogspot.com and read a few of the notes left for us. You can also sense the sincerity of those who came to the exhibition, that they were educated, enlightened and better informed for having attended the show. We raised a few thousand dollars but mostly we changed the way people viewed the Haitian people. Even today, the messages out of Haiti are threaded with words suggesting a failed country and a nation of the poorest people.
The Pink Door Photographs, Rodney's subjects, present another aspect of life, one where they refuse to be identified by mounds of rubble, endless statistics, or dire images of their dead families and friends theyve lost. A proud people, theyre so much more than this and it's the aspiration of the exhibition, the vision, that you will come away with another part of the puzzle, another length of thread which presents the Haitian people as proud, as dignified and unwilling to be maligned or to go quietly.
What We Need & What You Get
The original budget for the Phoenix show was near $17,000. This was just the hard costs however it doesn't account for the nearly 50 GIK vendors who contributed services or discounted strategic elements of the exhibition such as the photographs. All were framed and supplied at cost. But due to the venue offered, whole fantastic we had to import everything and I do mean everything, which added up the costs quickly.
The London exhibition is near $10-13,000. The biggest benefit is that we will be utilizing a venue which does this every day of the year. They have all of the facilities and fixtures, staff, lighting and a great location, all of which is being heavily discounted given the nature of the exhibition. This greatly reduces the outgoing which if we manage it properly we may come in under the 10k level. While there are sponsors for some of the core production budget, as it's a creative event, we are aware that there is one shot to capture the imagination of those attending. So we'd like to have a Blurb book product on sale presenting the story behind the work. A series of custom linen exhibition binders with a single watercolor print will be on auction along with all of the framed photographs at the end of the show. As it's London, the level of creativity is high. If not the highest on the planet so the experience has to be up to standards and i dont mean food and drink, I mean the images, which is what the show is all about.
NOTE 1: We are not having an open bar. Instead we're using a cash bar as we don't want critical funding to go towards alcohol per say. More importantly, if anyone has it in their heart to make a donation that evening we want them to have a few pennies left in their pocket to do it with. so any donation you'd make won't be supporting such actions.
NOTE 2: To be clear, I've been helping people privately for over a decade. Mostly through my assignments around the globe as a photographer where I would stumble into situations in which I felt compelled to help. The Pink Door Photographs, is my first exhibition as a serious image maker. The first in 30+ years and I've come to realize that the work has been created for this very purpose. For exhibition where the general public may have access to the messages my subjects have for them. in this, I am pure in my request needing help and am a strong partner with in in making sure this exhibition comes to life. Livebooks, creator of custom websites, has given us access to a custom built website worth approximately $3600, free of charge, which will be the one-stop for information on all of the Pink Door exhibitions.
NOTE 3: This one night show is preceding a public venue whereby the work will be on display within the London community for a month. This venue has yet to be established but the goal here is to enable everyone a chance, those interested in such situations, to have access. Equally, after the public showing, small groups of images will be made available for corporations and specialized public venues to again, reach an even broader audience. In this, the prints are key and it's in this part of the budget i am seeking your help on.
NOTE 4: WEBSITES
Image Set Can be Viewed At: http://thepinkdoorphotographs.com
Back Story Video: http://www.thepinkdoorphotographs-london.blogspot.com
Original Blog: http://www.thepinkdoorphotographs.blogspot.com
The money I'm seeking here, is to enable the Pink Door images to be printed on a high quality archival watercolour paper and framed with professional levels of quality and care to ensure the images, as a framed unit, are worth purchasing at the exhibition. Equally I want to print the images within London as it's a custom show which will need constant adjusting on site with possibly additional framed pieces needing to be supplied. There should be normally about 35-40 large framed pieces in this show, which are approximately $300 per image. Overall costs would be nearing $12,000 which is about what we would have paid in the USA had we paid full price. We've been offered a 30% discount as well so I expect the budget to be near the 10k region.
Any amount needed above this will be supported by the sponsors. If the goal here isn't met, I will apply all of the funds raised to the production of the photographic prints which should be able to be used in further shows on the continent with a few here and there getting damaged needing replaced. So it's a solid investment in the presentation centered on this optimistic aspect of the subjects within The Pink Door Photographs show.
None of the funding will come to me personally. It will be paid directly to the London based print supplier against costs. All venue and ancillary funding is coming from The Paradigm Project, United Haitians in the united Kingdom and their colleagues. To compensate all of you, at various levels commensurate with your gift, I've enabled many of you to have access to a rare opportunity to own an original print from the Pink Door Photographs collection so take a look at the Perks section.
Lastly, if all goes right, the organizations attending will have the ability to increase their presence in the community and within their industry by having the collection of images as a center point to meet and find new friends and supporters for their programs. My goal is simple. To show another side of the Haitian people. In this i will be honoring the time they gave me in the first place to create their image,in that they too, by letting me have access to their image, would be playing their part in some small way. However, they had no idea that in fact, they would be having a large role in reinstating the dignity they deserve.
Other Ways You Can Help
All of us have the power in our hands these days. Social media rules! Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogs, all of these methods please utilize all of them to help us continue raising awareness to the ongoing plight of the Haitian community. High schools and colleges, broadcast the links to your friends and tell them to "get involved". All of us within the United States and within the global community, all have the ability to play our role in helping ease the human condition. Haitians, companies working in Haiti, friends and family, please make a donation to what is, will be an ongoing traveling exhibition to help, to play out role in easing the human condition.
NOTE 5: Rodney Rascona's photographs, if sold at the exhibition, the resulting proceeds will be donated to the identified child or charity needing support on the night of the exhibition.
Team on This Campaign:
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Rodney RasconaExhibiting photographer...
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jill.kyler
Jill Kyler is a champion among women and even men for that matter!! A long time supporter of The Pink Door Photographs...Jill will use her immense personality to inspire others,to help us...to continue with the ongoing exhibition.
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janettray
Janet is a renaissance woman without a doubt..a friend of this photographer and an original supporter of The Pink Door Photographs from the very beginning. If you have a team, you;d want Janet on it..!!
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Russ HaanRuss is at the core, a creatives creative...he stepped up at crunch time on the first Pink Door show with contacts and ideas at the Icehouse and has been offering up support since the very beginning. Russ owns and runs The After Hours Gallery in Phoenix so Russ will help keep The Pink Door collection alive no matter what country we find ourselves in...all for good!
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Eva Voorhees
Phoenix...Eva has been a friend of this photographer and my work for others for a very long time. She's respected for her opinion so she'll be a key US based advocate for Pink Door-London...