I Have Been Named Member of the Board of Trustees of AXIS

I’m very happy to announce that I have been named a member of the Board of Trustees of Axis, a charity that supports artists and champions best practices in the creative industries in the UK. I was attracted to the role because Axis was looking for trustees who consider themselves champions of equal access, anti-racism, and fair distribution in whatever field they work in. Those words strongly resonated with me!

Axis was founded in 1991 as an organisation that supports artists all over the UK by nurturing a culture of collaboration and growth, and creating opportunities for artists while encouraging and facilitating good practice in the visual arts.

They do this by creating access to the arts through their multiple programmes: Vacant Spaces (pop up art spaces in high streets all over the country), Graduate programme to ease the transition of students of art into the creative industries, Fellowship scheme with commissions, Hardship Fund, and more.

I couldn’t be prouder of being a member of the board of trustees of this organisation because they represent everything that I stand for. You can find out more about Axis and the work they do on their website axisweb.org or any of their social media @axisweb.

Subscribe to my blog posts here!

RIP Stephen Hawking

Today we have lost one of the brightest minds in modern history and a person whose contribution to humanity is unmeasured. Professor Stephen Hawking passed away this morning at age 76 in his home in Cambridge, leaving behind a legacy which includes his works on black holes and the relationship between Einstein's theory of relativity and the Big Bang. One can only begin to comprehend how much humankind has lost today.

There are many human deaths every day, people constantly die from natural causes, from diseases, in horrible conflicts, accidents or even natural disasters. And it doesn't seem fair to mourn the death of just one person when there would be so many other human beings who deserved to be honoured as well. But the reason why I decided to honour the memory of Professor Hawking is that his life is an example of how one person can battle their own demons and overcome all the obstacles and limitations that have been thrown at them and still live an exemplary life contributing so much to our species.

These should be our heroes. These should be the role models our children look up to. Not one single person who achieves celebrity status these days has done so much for humanity as this man did. And I'm sure that there are so many more exemplary human beings working in the shadows and doing real good who we will probably never hear of in the news or in our social media feeds.

That's why I decided to acknowledge his passing on my blog today. I hope that everytime that I'm faced with a challenge that can potentially set me back, I remember people like him, who in spite of adversity managed to achieve so much. Rest in Peace, Professor Hawking.

Do you like what you just read? Subscribe to the weekly blog posts here!

Buy A Postcard For A Good Cause

This month of October, over 1000 photographers are taking part in the Photography On A Postcard fundraiser organised by The Hepatitis C Trust. The fundraiser consists on a lottery that guarantees the ticket-holder a 10x15cms (postcard size) photograph from photographers like Jim Goldberg, Martin Parr, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nina Berman, and Cristina De Middel, or less-familiar talents. All ticket-holders will be winners, with photographs assigned to each ticket at random. Two of my photos from my Brexiters series will take part in the lottery. What are you waiting for to buy your ticket? 

The Hepatitis C Trust is the national UK charity for hepatitis C with offices in London and Falkirk. It has been operating since 2001. It is a patient-led and patient-run organisation: most of their board, staff, and volunteers either have hepatitis C or have had it and have cleared it after treatment. Their over-arching goal is to shut down because they are no longer needed; in other words, because hepatitis C has been eliminated in the UK. Historically, hepatitis C has been neglected, partly because there has been no concerted patient voice and because it is often wrongly stigmatised as a drug user’s disease.

With Photography On A Postcard, the trust will try to replicate the success of Art On A Postcard, a program which raises money through an annual secret postcard auction and ‘postcard lotteries’ throughout the year. To date Art on a Postcard has raised over £350K for The Hepatitis C Trust.

I am really pleased to have the opportunity to donate my work to such a good cause. Please show your support and buy your ticket on this link.

Do you like what you just read? Subscribe to the weekly blog posts here!

Changing The World One Photo At A Time

I am really happy to announce that I am now part of PhotoAid Global, an organisation that offers professional photographic services to NGOs, charities, and good causes in order to inspire understanding and action through visual documentary on human and animal rights, and raise environmental awareness. PhotoAid Global is the brainchild of Vanessa Champion, a brilliant photographer and an even more beautiful soul who has travelled the world living exceptional experiences with the most extraordinary people while telling their stories with her camera.

Vanessa set up PhotoAid Global to help fuse the two sides that she sees all the time: NGOs and good causes who desperately need money and are always looking for volunteers and supporters but who have amazing assets in the people and on-the-ground knowledge and can broker travel and relationships; and photographers and business people who want to put something back and are at that point in their careers where they want to make a difference.

Her efforts have also inspired the creation of new chapters like the recently founded PhotoAid Greece, pioneered by photographer Giorgos Xirogiannis whose goal is to help and promote 'people who help people' across Greece and to spread the message that in the difficult times that we live only through solidarity to our fellow human beings our society can maintain its cohesion.

Please show them some love and support by following their social media channels:

PhotoAid Global: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

PhotoAid Greece: Facebook

Do you like what you just read? Subscribe to the weekly blog posts here!