Nonprofit Organization 100Cameras to Receive $25,000 to Help Marginalized Youth Turn Their Photographic Stories Into Art for Sale
The Leica Galleries, Lenny Kravitz, Berlin-based art advisor and international agent Reiner Opoku and Ostlicht Gallery in Vienna, Austria are donating $25,000 in proceeds from the Lenny Kravitz – FLASH exhibit to 100Cameras, a nonprofit organization teaching marginalized children from across the globe to create change in their community through photography. The FLASH exhibit, which was on display during the December Art Basel Miami Beach fair, included a selection of 50 photographs taken by Kravitz with his Leica camera. The profits from the exhibit will be donated to 100Cameras to help support their next international project, Project006, and the organization’s Snapshot Project platform.
“We’re very proud that the proceeds from ‘FLASH’ will be able to support the mission of 100Cameras,” said Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, Chief Representative Leica Galleries International. “Our longtime passion for art and photography is at the core of everything we do. We’re thrilled that we’re able to help fuel this passion in children throughout the world and support an experience that allows them to grow and give back in a meaningful way.”
100Cameras shows kids that they can make a difference in their own communities by teaching them to share their perspectives through photography and then turning their stories into sellable products that then directly fund medical, educational and lifeline supplies. At least half of the amount raised through the FLASH exhibit will go toward 100Cameras’ 6th international project, which will include a partnership with a local organization, such as an orphanage or community center. The project will consists of 15 students who will get the opportunity to experience a deep dive into photography techniques, as well as learn how they can make a difference in their community through photography.
The remainder of the donation will go toward 100Cameras’ operational support to expand its Snapshot Project platform, aimed at equipping photographers with the tools and curriculum to implement their own 100Cameras project in communities they care about.
“We are so grateful to receive this opportunity and resource so that we can continue to empower children through art and teach them that their voices are important,” said Angela F Popplewell Founder and Executive Director of 100Cameras. “We have four Snapshot Projects currently under way and will continue to open up more applications later this year as the platform expands. The ultimate goal over the coming years is to equip hundreds of people to take on projects worldwide – and thus, impact thousands more kids.”
The FLASH exhibit included a selection of more than 50 photographs, in which Kravitz captures the essence of his life as a musician permanently in the public eye and a constant target for photographers, paparazzi and fans. The photographs, taken with equipment from the Leica M-System, document Kravitz’s world travels and offer unusual insights into the nomadic life of a musician. Kravitz pays particular attention to effects made possible by the creative use of lighting and manipulation of the pictures in processing.