30 Strangers 2010 - The Exhibit Press Release

Photography Exhibit Benefits Women’s Shelter

Provo, Utah – June 10, 2010 – How did one photographer and 30 strangers team up to help local victims of domestic violence? Find out when art and activism come together at a downtown Provo gallery on Friday, July 2. Featuring the work of Justin Hackworth, the “30 Strangers III: Portraits of Mothers & Daughters” exhibit will raise funds for the Center for Women & Children in Crisis.

 

For the third edition of Hackworth’s 30 Strangers Project and fund raiser, the fine art photographer shot portraits of 30 sets of mothers and daughters, some spanning four generations, over 30 days. Participants were selected at random from over 400 people that asked to be part of the project. In lieu of a sitting fee, each donated to the Center. Hackworth is offering a similar arrangement during the show opening, which starts at 6pm at 26 West Center Street, near the corner of University Avenue and Center Street in Provo, Utah.

 

Shelter manager Kim Kowallis hopes the show also boosts awareness of the Center’s mission. “I want people to realize how many women and kids we serve,” Kowallis says. The center can’t afford to advertise, and relies instead on word of mouth to reach both potential donors and women in need. “Our shelter is about women who are fleeing domestic violence, who have to just grab their kids and run.”

 

Kowallis says the exhibit theme suits the Center’s message of hope. “At the shelter, people are in crisis, and life is not good,” she says. “I want them to see mother-daughter relationships that are in a good place. I’m definitely taking some of them to the show, to see how things can be—that things can get better.”

 

Many of the subject came from all over the country to be photographed by Hackworth, including Washington DC, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, and Denver. One portrait subject was so excited about the project, she drove 4 hours to Provo from her home in Idaho Falls, Idaho to participate. “The whole experience was magic. He takes photographs that tell a story about the people in them, a photograph that will be treasured because it is a perfect portrayal of that moment in time. Real and genuine,” says Marta Dansie. Dansie posed with her mother who said, "Justin doesn't just take pictures. He produces art."

 

Hackworth, a portrait and wedding photographer whose work has shown at Salt Lake City’s Art Access and Finch Lane galleries, Park City’s Kimball Art Center, and the Springville Art Museum, started the 30 Strangers Project in 2008. “Over 30 days, I shot portraits of 30 people I didn’t know,” Hackworth says. “That experience was fascinating, so I wanted to do it again. But it really became more meaningful when I focused on a theme that could give something back to the community.”

 

 

Info:

Exhibit begins at 6pm July 2nd, and takes place at 26 West Center Street, near the corner of University Avenue and Center Street in Provo, Utah.

 

Additional gallery hours will be on July 3 & 5 12pm – 8pm
July 6-9 2pm – 5pm

 

I have more questions. What should I do?

Call me: 801.916.6993 or email me: justin@justinhackworth.com

 

Website: www.justinhackworth.com