I can't imagine living without art surrounding me every day and I know personally the power it has to uplift and inspire. A few years ago I bought a stunning and beautifully printed calendar by famed British photographer Michael Kenna and it was so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to throw it away at the end of the year. 2015 is the 19th year of his publishing this calendar which is produced in Japan and the images look almost like original prints.
So I decided that I would cut up the calendar and frame each of the images and donate them to local non profits. The frames were donated by the family of Julian T. Baker Jr., a passionate Raleigh photography collector, after he passed away in 2011. Cassilhaus donated the first set to Genesis Home and then the Durham Literacy Center. I started working with the interns here to make it part of the framing training we do and then it gave us an opportunity to involve them in learning about local non profits when we deliver the prints. Last year we donated to Threshold and this year we donated five framed pictures each to Compass Center and Durham Crisis Response Center. Both are doing amazing work in domestic violence prevention and sexual assault victim support and care.
Please consider supporting these organizations that work in our community and send me suggestions and recommendations for other organizations in Durham and Chapel Hill that would benefit from photography in their facilities. I just ordered the 2014 and 2015 calendars so we are ready to frame!
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