Christian Bobst. Kullu Valley, India. 2009. Reflection.

“Luxury,” says British essayist Pico Iyer, “is a function of scarcity.”

In Mumbai – where the clamor of construction begins outside my bedroom window at four a.m. and where my neighbors watch me do living-room yoga to the backdrop of pigeon squawks – luxury is

space

and quiet.

In Bombay, high-rolling clubs like Breach Candy and Bombay Gymkhana afford the city’s wealthy and their expatriate guests such luxuries as space for swimming pools the size of intersections and shrubbery planted solely to block out the racket of traffic.

Upon first glance, the life of Christian Bobst’s monk seems luxurious to someone like me. And I imagine many Mumbaikers deprived of space and tranquility would feel the same. But after reflecting on the photo’s backstory, I see the discipline and sacrifice required for the monk to live this way.  And I wonder, if Christian Bobst’s monk were to look at a photo of me banging away at my white-collar job in a new seventh-floor apartment, would he see a picture of luxury, or something else? 

- Mark 

FREE ART - Nuru Project is giving away a free 20” x 24” Christian Bobst print if our Twitter following grows to 2000 by Friday as part of Social Media Week in NYC. Promote @NuruProject using #SMWnuru to be eligible. Watch a video with more info here.

Mark Hand is an Investment Associate at First light Ventures, which invests in young social enterprises in India. He is especially proud of his new leather-sole Dan Post western boots.

DignityNYC was a huge success!

$11K+ in prints sold and $20K+ raised overall for Acumen Fund in partnership with NY for Acumen. Final #s coming soon…

In the meantime, here are some pre-event setup photos, including our awesome volunteers Courtney Schoon and Christina Lappas, who were invaluable in helping hang the show. Thanks guys! 

So, when I order a print, what’s in the envelope anyway?  Well, first of all, your print. We got this from Taylor after he opened his 8x10 Espen Rasmussen print.

And here are prints by Marco Trovato and Brandon Thibodeaux that we shipped to Kelly earlier this week.

What’s that card with the handwriting on it and why are that dude’s hands so hairy?  Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about Matt’s body hair. But every print comes with a printed version of the photographer’s handwritten Backstory. Backstories explore the photographer’s experience of creating the image. Why were they there? What do they know about the people in the photograph? What happened just before and after this particular frame? 

What’s with all the stamping?  We do love our Nuru Project stamp! We stamp your envelope so that you’ll know your Nuru Project print has arrived when it shows up in the mail. And we stamp the back of your print to remind you that your print purchase supported a good cause.

How do I know my Nuru Project print is the real deal?  Easy! We include an archival foil-backed Label of Authenticity with all the relevant info, including the photographer, a brief image description, the date, the medium, the size and print #, your name, the cause you benefited, and a printed version of the artist’s signature. We recommend that you let your framer apply this to the back of your print.

You said that the prints are numbered? Does that mean they’re part of limited editions?  Limited editioning is about creating scarcity. We believe the true spirit of photojournalism is to tell a story far and wide to an audience passionate about social change. As such, Nuru Project does not limit the quantity of prints we sell for a given image. Just the opposite: we celebrate volume. The more copies a print sells, the more impact it has on a cause and the more it supports the photographer’s work. And we pair volume with moderate prices, allowing us to reach a wide audience and raise more money for causes. Volume = Impact. We do, however, number prints. This is called an Open Edition. 

Here’s a screenshot from my computer of what you can expect to find on your Label of Authenticity, including your Open Edition Print #:

So where can I get a Nuru Project print? Glad you asked! You can purchase prints to benefit Acumen Fund, Architecture for Humanity, Malaria No More, Partners In Health, and Pencils of Promise right here.

- JB

(Source: bit.ly)

When we first met Acumen Fund CEO Jacqueline Novogratz, she asked, “What’s your dream?”

Nuru Project was fresh off the first DIGNITY NYC, a highly successful fundraising photo auction that Nuru Project curated for New York for Acumen in July 2009. So we pitched Jacqueline on DIGNITY auctions traveling through other Acumen chapters as they opened around the world.

Eighteen months later, Nuru Project and eight of Acumen Fund’s chapters have passed a major milestone: over $100,000 raised at DIGNITY photo auctions!

After the first New York event, DIGNITY traveled through Acumen chapters in SF, Chicago, Toronto, Dubai, Karachi, DC, Vancouver, and London, with a total attendance of over 1,500 people.

In a recent newsletter, Jacqueline noted the important role that chapters play in spreading Acumen’s ideas. Nuru Project and Acumen Fund’s chapters are honored to be working towards this mission.

We’re also excited to bring DIGNITY back to NYC on November 9^th in honor of Acumen Fund’s 10-Year Anniversary. We hope this will be our largest fundraiser to date.

We will showcase a variety of beautiful prints from renowned photographers that illustrate Acumen Fund’s vision and values. The exhibit will include a number of prints for sale, as well as a smaller number of limited edition prints for silent auction. DIGNITY NYC will be hosted at Studio 450—a beautiful duplex penthouse loft located at 450 West 31st Street.

We hope you join us for this evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and beautiful photos. Acumen Fund’s own Jacqueline Novogratz will be making an appearance at the beginning of the event.

You can buy tickets to the event here.

Dignity NYC
Wednesday, November 9^th 6 – 10pm
Studio 450 @ 450 West 31st Street

DIGNITY continues to be a thoroughly collaborative process. Special thanks to:

Aaron Huey, Acumen Fund’s Business Development team, Adam Crockett, Aesha Arif, Agence VU, Akash Trivedi, Aki Kaltenbach, Ali Jamal Jaffery, Alixandra Fazzina/Noor, Ami Vitale, Anissa Kermali Punjani, Anjelika Deogirikar, Ashley Lawson, Aun Rahman, Ben Hudson, Bertrand Meunier/Tendence Floue, Brooklyn Breweries, Carrie Ting, Chicago for Acumen, Chris McAleenan, Christian Als/Panos, Clementine Jagot, Daniel Berehulak/Getty, Daniel Murray, DC for Acumen, Diya Khalil, Donysha Smith, Dubai for Acumen, Emmanuelle Chiche, Erica Dhawan, Erin Little, Erin Trimble, Espen Rasmussen/Panos, Evelyn Hockstein, Farhat Umar, Favad Soomro, Ganesh Kumar, Getty Images, Haroun Habib, Heidi Krauel, Hima Batavia, Jakob Dall, James Whitlow Delano/Redux, James Wu, Jason Tanner, Jason Wallis, JB Reed, Jeremy Higgs, Jo-Ann Tan, Johan Bavman/Moment, Johann Rousellot, Karthik Janakiraman, Kathryn Obermaier/Sombra Projects, Lauren Jolliff, Magnum Foundation, Marvi Lacar/Reportage by Getty Images, Massimo Berruti/Agence VU, Matthew Watson, Meaghan Casey, Mediha Abdulhay, Meher Jaffri, Michael Margolis, Mikkel Ostergaard/Panos, Miranda Franco, Misbah Naqvi, Modernage Photographic Labs, Mohammed Syed, Molly Alexander, Moment Agency, Monica Yeung, Muneeb Ali, Natasha Qamar, Nathan Laurell, Naveed Ahmad, Nicole Orillac, Nina Sharma West, Noor Images, Nuru Project, Olivia Arthur/Magnum, Omri Bloch, Pakistan for Acumen, Palani Mohan/Reportage by Getty Images, Panos, Pauline Nguyen, Peggy Willett, Per-Anders Petterson/Reportage by Getty Images, Pieter Ten Hoopen/Agence VU, Rabia Ahmed, Rabia Sarwar Qari, Randy Olson/Olson & Farlow, Raul Gallego Abellan, Redux, Reportage by Getty Images, Riccardo Venturi/Contrasto, Ryan Blackburn, Salima Rawji, Sara Irshad, Sarah Reintjes, Sarina Cass, Sasha Dichter, Seth Nemeroff, SF for Acumen, Sombra Projects, Sonya Khan, Stefan Mustain, Steve McCurry/Magnum, Susan Meiselas/Magnum, Tanya Rumble, Teru Kuwayama/Basetrack, The New York Times, Theos Stamoulis, TJ Rak, Tomas Munita, Toronto for Acumen, Tyler Hicks/The New York Times, Vancouver for Acumen, Wendy Wecksell, Yasir Arif Herekar, Yasmina Zaidman, Young Professional for Acumen, Zackary Canepari/Panos, Zee Morin.