The Last Kaffiyeh Factory in Palestine- Photo Essay
“Our story is a story.” “The factory has been here for 56 years.” “Little by little, we built it up.” “We used to work for 24 hours, and we couldn’t catch up. But after they opened up the market to China, it all came down.” “Now, we’re the only factory in the entire West Bank and Gaza, it’s just us, and it’s not even working out. Half our machines are offline.” “This is our thing, there’s no alternative. I’ve used a lot of energy doing it for a long more »
South Sudan OYE!
“When my father was 12, he was throwing rocks at militia men. When I was 12, I was worrying about boys and crushes. He sacrificed so much to give me a life where I could have the normal concerns that children should have. Now it is our duty to take the opportunities we have been given to re-build South Sudan.” These are the words of a young mother, said while holding her four year old son at the South Sudan Independence Celebration event on June 9th. She was one of more »
Salvador, Bahia Carnaval 2011 and Mikael Mutti
Five years ago, I was introduced to the liminal zones of Carnaval in northeast Brazil. In 2005-2006 I was living in Olinda, Pernambuco and joined a street theater group called Boi Surubi, which I practiced with for the months leading up to Carnaval, learning rhythms, songs, and stories. The group was led by Marcos Isaises, who brought together about twenty kids from the nearby favela in the blazing hot afternoons. Set in the Bumba-Meu-Boi dance tradition – reenacting a story called the Desire of Catherine about a slave named Pai more »
Why I Talk to Strangers
I saw my mom across the street talking to a strikingly beautiful woman and feared for the worst. She was in town for my graduation from NYU and so far had broken every social rule of NYC. She spoke loudly on the subway, walked slowly, stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and initiated conversation with strangers every chance she could. As I crossed the street I was prepared to save the woman from the grip of my mother’s never ending curiosity and small talk. As soon as I met more »
Stories Worth Sharing- Grow, Panos and ‘Gay Families’
If you are in the not-for-profit world you should go take a look at Oxfam’s new Grow campaign, aimed at addressing the global food shortage crisis. Their site campaign aims to draw viewers in by making them feel like they can be part of the solution. They want to make the viewer feel as if they are a part of something big. It follows a trend in not-for-profit media that uses short non-narrative videos with a heavy reliance on advertising techniques- i.e. focus on graphic design and ‘cool/edgy’ editing style more »
Help!
WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are currently applying for a wide range of grants to fund a very exciting multimedia project based around young female changemakers (more to come!). Many of the applications require a portfolio of images based around the theme of the project. …That’s where you come in. We need help deciding which images we should use. Leave a comment with your top THREE photos you think we should use. We’ll let you know the winners. Also, click on the photos to see the project they were taken more »
No Boundaries
You know something is powerful when all of your dreams revolve around it. Last night we attended a tribute to Tim Hetherington titled No Boundaries at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. We watched Diary, his reflection on his experience as a war photographer (watch it on vimeo). It an incredibly inspiring and evocative piece which affected me deeply. It surreally explores the nature of memory and experience as he spent time in life threatening circumstances and then returned to everyday life. Although we do not do war photography, the more »
Labadi Scenes
Our favorite part of being here is walking around Labadi, meeting people, talking to them and sharing in the photographic process. At the end of our time here we will have a street party in front of the Of Rags shop. We are screening the skits about HIV/AIDS that we are making with youth tomorrow, but after we will have a massive projected slideshow of all the community photos we have taken around Labadi. Here is a sneak peak of some of our favorites (note all the fierce fashion…): Tweet
Arriving in Accra, Ghana with Of Rags
All of my nervousness about arriving in Ghana, about taking my turn to be the Other, melted away on the plane. Throughout the course the flight we made friends with the three Ghanaians sitting next to us and their warmth and openness reminded me of all the kindness I had experienced my first time here. After three hours of sleep, we arrived at 7:30am and deliriously attempted to make it through the day (7 hour time difference), while taking in our new surroundings. Raam, the co-founder of Of Rags, greeted more »
Advantages of Outdoor Education: Trip to the Passaic, Great Swamp, and Raptor Trust
Last Tuesday I took a trip with students at George Washington HS in Washington Heights out to New Jersey to get a breath of fresh air. We scooped the Passaic river and looked at the creatures inside, did some birding, and netted insects in a field which we looked at more closely with microscopes. Then we went on this boardwalk tour of the Great Swamp wetlands, and checked out the Raptor Trust, where wounded raptors like bald eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures go to heal. On the trip I met student more »
