How can photography create a family??? Well, when it’s the Heart Gallery it does! The Heart Gallery– made up of a group of photographers volunteering across more than 40 States that photograph “waiting children.” These children are up for adoption and are the ones that have been longest on that waiting list. The program has received a lot of national attention, such as appearing on TV’s 20/20 in 2005 and 2006 I am one of those photographers for the Colorado Heart Gallery. The goal is for this highly visible traveling gallery of images to try to increase awareness and hopefully attract prospective adoptive families. The outcome measures do show that with each successive year the rate of adoption of these children continually increases.
We are just now kicking off the initial work to get the 2008-2009 Gallery started. The Colorado Heart Gallery’s grand opening will be on October 6th, with musician Hazel Miller helping to kick off the opening at a location to be determined. The gallery will then move to a new public location every 6 weeks around Colorado for a full year.
Typical adoption photographs…
“They look like mug shots,” said David Bergman, a Sports Illustrated Photographer who was one of the volunteers. “You can’t really get a glimpse into a child’s personality, or you really don’t know anything about them by looking at those pictures.”
I will be posting updates and my own work for the Gallery over the next few months. In the meantime, have a look at this video that takes a little closer look into The Heart Gallery at one of the other national locations– in Alabama.
