Hasta La Ideas

Subjects-turned-photographers exhibit powerful images of the lives of women in post-earthquake Haiti

In contrast to traditional photojournalism, an upcoming exhibit about life in post-earthquake Haiti offers a powerful look inside the lives of women by putting cameras in their hands. “The Way We See It” is a collection of photographs shot by 30 Haitian women living in a devastated nation where privacy and security are nearly nonexistent. Spearheaded by Abby Goldberg of Digital Democracy, the program started with the mission of shedding light on the issue of gender-based violence, which has become increasingly prevalent in the camp lifestyle resulting from the 2010 natural disaster.

After teaching the women how to use digital cameras, co-curators Erin Kornfeld and Erica Leone of Elk Studios narrowed down the thousands of images with the help of participants to a total of 48. The resulting collection is a striking portrait of the women’s daily life, documenting communities as they survive day to day in tents, plywood lean-tos and the other makeshift shelters that make up neighborhoods in the wake of the destruction.

Not just an example of raising awareness, The Way We See It sets a progressive example of how marginalized individuals can express themselves when given the right tools. As one of the photographers and Women Victims for Victims co-founder Marie Eramithe Delva explains, through photography they can “capture concretely what has happened and what continues to happen,” offering a far truer depiction than one most documentarians can provide. Exhibitions like this (the similar 2010 “Campaign to stop Violence against Women in Eastern Congo” photo essay by Francois Vaxelaire comes to mind) demonstrates how powerful a humanitarian tool photography can be.

The one-night-only exhibition and auction will take place 28 April 2011 at NYC’s Splashlight Studios. All proceeds from sales of the photos and the corresponding catalog will directly benefit the women who took the photos, and the continued work of Digital Democracy.

See more images in the gallery.

All images courtesy Digital Democracy © 2011 “The Way We See It”

In this movie recorded at Somerset House in London author Max Fraser talks about his Joy of Living project, where designers including John Pawson, Michael Wolfson and Brodie Neill donated artworks based on graph paper to raise money for a cancer charity. 

Click on the symbol in the bottom right of the video player above to view the movie in full-screen HD.
Can’t see the movie? Click here.

The movie also features Charles Jencks, co-founder of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, talking about the work the charity does.

120 pieces were on show before being sold to raise money for the charity. More details in our earlier story.

The exhibition has now closed but artworks are available to buy for £250 each from the project website.

More about Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres on Dezeen »

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Maggie’s Centre Cheltenham by MJP Architects	Maggie’s Centre Gartnavel by OMA	Maggie’s Centre London by Rogers Stirk Harbour

Design celebrates life in an exhibit benefitting cutting-edge cancer care

After the British design curator Max Fraser lost his mother to cancer a few years ago, he vowed to do something to help others fight the disease; the Joy of Living project is his contribution. Design-focused through and through, the project raises money for the architect-designed retreats Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres and brings together an impressive collection of the best of British design talent.

Over 100 designers—including stars such as Terence Conran, Tom Dixon, Barber Osgerby, John Pawson, Tomoko Azumi, Stuart Haygarth and Michael Marriott— each submitted an artwork on a piece of A4 graph paper that responds in some way to the title of the show. The resulting eclectic range of creative responses all sell for £250, but buyers won’t know who’s behind the work they’ve bought until after their transaction takes place. Max says this anonymous element to the show reflects “the democratic values at the core of Maggie’s philosophy” and ensures that supporters are buying a piece “to which they have a true emotional response.”

But given that this exhibition shows off the best of the design world, naturally an element of competitiveness is involved. Adding a little extra incentive to the proceedings are two prizes, one for the best art work, as judged by a design jury, and one for the most popular artwork, as judged by the public. Winners will be awarded £1000 and £500 respectively.

Max Fraser is aiming to raise a whopping £50,000 for Maggie’s through the Joy of Living project. You can follow his progress on Twitter,
@JoyOfLiving2011, and visit the exhibit through 21 March 2011.

We love the upbeat nature of this amazing fundraising effort that celebrates creative life rather than mourning death. Max quotes charity founder Maggie Keswick Jencks when talking about the inspiration for this project, “Above all what matters is not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying.”

A chocolate company dedicated to making more than just brilliant chocolate bars

Oakland-based Fearless was created by artist and activist Jordan Michael Schuster in 2006. The company uses organic Cacao from Brazil that’s been crafted to produce two to three times more antioxidants than traditional organic chocolate. The chocolate bars are made with 100% Kosher ingredients and are dairy-, gluten- and soy-free, using mineral-rich unrefined whole sugars.

In order to consider the chocolate bars raw, the cacao beans are temperature controlled using water-jacketed equipment.The process includes grinding, mixing, melting and molding the chocolate at temperatures that are under 118°F in order to preserve the nutrients, enzymes and anti-oxidants. The unique flavors offered are: Matcha Green Tea Peppermint (our fave), Sweet and Hot Hibiscus Ginger, Super Seeds Chrunch Hemp Chia Flax, Dark as Midnight and bestseller Exploding Coconuts. The flavors are both unique, potent and extremely satisfying.

Fearless is also dedicated to making a conscious effort to give back to “fearless” people or organizations making a difference. One percent of its yearly profits are donated to “changemakers” that are suggested by Fearless customers. After suggestions have been made, a yearly vote happens in December to decide who will receive the generous donation. Fearless’ dedication to giving back is reflected in their packaging seen below, where a “bite” has been taken both out of the chocolate bar and its packaging, symbolizing the percentage taken out of the company’s profits.

photo via Notcot

This well-rounded company has also made a concerted effort to be environmentally responisble by using 100 percent recycled paper that bio-degrades in six months. The wrapper inside is also made from environmentally appropriate materials that serve to ward off elements that threaten the purity of the bar.

When you bite into this unassumingly amazing chocolate bar, do it knowing you are being both satisfied and supporting a company that’s giving back. Buy a single bar for $5 or a box of 11 bars for $55 from their online shop.

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High-tech boomboxes, a turntable and a classic watch—all limited editions up for auction just in time for the holidays

Of the series of limited-edition collaborative products that we introduced this season, a few are so rare that we couldn’t even offer them for sale. To get your hands on some amazing objects with 100% of the proceeds going to NYC-based not-for-profits check out our four auctions below. Each ends Sunday 19 December 2010 so we can ship them to you for the holidays.

From the shores of Lake Neuchâtel to the Cool Hunting pop up shop at 680 Fifth Avenue, the Marvin “Toujours Plus” Malton 160 was produced in an edition of eight. The Toujours Plus, handcrafted for Cool Hunting, celebrates the reintroduction of Marvin to the U.S. market after a twenty year hiatus. This is the only remaining one, and it can be yours! 100% of the sale price will benefit Animal Haven Shelter, a New York City nonprofit dedicated to finding a loving home for abandoned cats and dogs.

Our other auction items involve a product that you can’t even get your hands on until later in 2011. TDK’s new produce range, called Life On Record, includes a three-speaker boombox
with a 6-inch subwoofer as well as two 6-inch coaxial drivers that can deliver a robust range of sounds.

In addition the line includes a two-speaker boombox with a shoulder strap. TDK further realizes their vision of bringing old-school chic into 2011 with the limited-edition turntable they’re pre-releasing through the auction. The new-age music-players will be available next year, but through our charity auction benefiting Musicians On Call, you can be the first kid on the block paying homage to Radio Raheem with editions customized in green leather by leather maestro Mathieu Brown.