Photography With Purpose
How The Arts Can Create Change
This is for the lover of strangers, strangers in dark corners. In the armpit of Earth, where the water in the air is suffocating , and you can drown standing still. I love standing still. When I stand still, I can hear and feel my heart beating. I can feel my blood enter the labyrinth, leave, and return as if it forgot something. I am alive, you are alive, now what are we going to do with this “living”?
Art with purpose, is the mirror to a life with purpose. There is no denying that humans believe they are alive for a reason. It is our intrinsic curiosity that challenges us to explore space, leagues under the sea, and search for gods. We have a deep seeded need for understanding our place on this planet. For me, charity completes me. I believe that charity is the extraction of self to benefit someone else. We all have talents and abilities. Truth be told, we all have the capacity to be superheroes in our own way. Yet, what good is this power if it doesn’t benefit anyone?
“The heart of the artist should be greater their hands” Brandon Plain/AFAINT CEO
It is evident that art in its many forms, has been used as the kindling for inspiring the public at large. Whether it’s through photography, music, painting, poetry, or culinary, human beings have been drawn to art so that it can reflect their ideals. What we exude, one can conclude, that which resides within us. We hold a treasure within our earthen vessels, and your treasure can be the spark that fans the flames of advocacy.
Think of people like Bob Marley and what his art meant to the people of Jamaica, what Michael Jacksons music meant to the people of East Africa, what Pablo Nerudas poetry meant to the people of Chile. Today I have chosen to use photography to mean something to the people of Kenya and Uganda.
For the last 8 years of my life I have been traveling and using photography as an awareness vehicle. Sharing with people the beauty and generosity of Africa and her people. Through our grassroots movement within Artists For Advocacy International we have been able to build 4 water tanks, hand out dozens of Malaria nets, send children to school, buy school uniforms, etc, just because a handful of artists decided they wanted to use their arts to make a difference.
But this blog isn’t about us, its about You! There is a world out there filled with pain, turmoil, strife, rage, hunger, thirst, and the worst of them all, apathy.
Apathy for me, is the inability to see oneself in the place of another.
Lets start a counter apathy movement with an advocacy movement! The definition of advocacy is exemplified in the idea of “active support”. Arts definition is simply the product of human creativity. When you combine these elements, what you get is the perfect combination to enlighten, educate, and encourage the public to respond to issues that need attention.
Ask yourselves, do you believe that your work could turn paint into bread, or a photo into water, for someone less fortunate? My friends and I proved that it could. All of the photos you see are “responsibly taken”. This means that every person you see in the pictures were recipient of art morphing into a charitble effort that suited them. Your life is an opulent opportunity to be more than great. You can be helpful!
When I met the young man in the picture, the experience really spoke to me. His smile was like a thousand suns. His spirit was fixed in the future where hope is hallowed. I pulled him to the side and said “future billionaire, huh”? He smiled bashfully and darted his chin to his chest. I said young man, “there is nothing in the world you can’t become, and that cross around your neck is a symbol of faith. If you can believe it, you can receive it”. We shook hands and parted ways. The caveat to that story is that the reality of his situation has a low probability of him being able to escape the vice of his village. Ironically, the subtitle of his shirt states “Can I Borrow A Dollar”. Well, can he? How about you at least lend your talent then? This is where I believe people like you and I come in.
He may have never believed that an American would enter his village, there was a point in my life I didn’t believe I’d ever make it to Africa. Yet all of this came true. It came true because a few dedicated individuals saw fit to fight the good fight. To be more than themselves, to have effectual empathy on someone else.
You don’t have to go to Africa, or any exotic place to have a lasting effect on people. I started in my own community first and then broaden my horizons. I suggest you do the same. The fire within you that makes your throat burn when you see someone less fortunate, is all the fire you need to burn away any apathy in your life. I hope these photographs are a beacon of light for you, and that your work, talent, or art can be the same for someone else.
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There are 3 blogs of black and white photos from Kenya and Uganda if you would like to view them as well. Just go to my profile and scroll down.
I love you all, I truly do.
