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http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2012/jan/6/philanthropic-photography/
Whereas many people are accustomed to ignoring the homeless, photographer Bill Piacesi devotes himself to taking a closer look.
[Click to enlarge]
Photographer Bill Piacesi has created Focus for the Good, a Binghampton-based nonprofit that uses photography to raise awareness and money to help the poor. (Photo: Lance Murphey)
Black-and-white portraits capturing the weary, forgotten faces of Memphis’ most disenfranchised individuals adorn his workspace inside The Commons, a multi-tenant nonprofit center at 258 N. Merton St. in the city’s Binghampton neighborhood.
Piacesi’s photographs – which are reminiscent of Dorothea Lange’s influential Depression-era portraits – aim to create a deep emotional connection between the subject and viewer, and raise awareness around issues of social justice.
The subjects of his fine art portraits include a former master electrician and a woman with a college degree in early childhood education whose lives came undone largely because of undiagnosed and untreated mental illnesses, and an elderly Vietnam veteran who lives in a tent near Millington.
“In today’s world, I think all of us are one or two paychecks away from being pretty similarly affected by what’s going on,” Piacesi said. “I think it’s not only doing fine art portraits that visually will grab somebody’s attention and make them stop and look, but if we can tell the stories of these people, it could be so moving.”
Piacesi was himself moved by the poverty surrounding him daily when he relocated to Memphis from an affluent Northern Virginia suburb about two years ago, after his wife, Marie, accepted a new job as a medical laboratory technician.
Through his business, Piacesi Photographic Arts, the seasoned photographer was accustomed to photographing family portraits of the wealthy, extravagant weddings and the interiors of Washington-area mansions.
But the reality of life for so many residents of the Bluff City turned Piacesi’s attention to a new venture: a nonprofit called Focus for the Good (www.focusforthegood.org), which he founded in April 2011.
“The idea is that if we can do fine art portraits of the homeless and underprivileged, and get those images into public spaces where they can be seen, hopefully it will raise awareness of the number and diversity of people that have fallen on hard times,” he said.
With so many nonprofits having to make major cutbacks in recent years in response to the uncertain economy, Piacesi saw a need for nonprofit photography – to be used online and in marketing campaigns – particularly for smaller nonprofits working on shoestring budgets.
“I’d like to work with them to provide images that I can also use as part of Focus for the Good, so, it’s a win-win,” he said.
For larger nonprofits, Piacesi provides professional photography services at lower cost.
“If their budget is big enough and they can afford to pay me to come in, then I’m going to offer affordable photography services,” he said. “I’m not going to charge them what we would normally charge for a commercial shoot. I’m going to give them a decent discount.”
Currently, most of the nonprofits he works with are his neighbors at The Commons, a former Methodist Church building repurposed to provide space for smaller nonprofits such as Families of Incarcerated Individuals, Memphis School of Student Leadership and Door of Hope.
The Commons belongs to the Center for Transforming Communities, which fosters relationships between congregations and communities. The organization’s executive director Amy Moritz offered Piacesi studio/office space at Focus for the Good in exchange for his photography services.
“One of the things that he doesn’t have a lot of right now is funding, and one of the things I have a lot of is space,” Moritz said. “And one of the other needs that we have as an organization is how to continue to tell our story – the story of that building and the story of the rest of our work. In exchange for space, he’ll take photographs for the partners in the building, and he’ll take photos out in the field to help us tell the bigger story of how congregations and churches can connect with neighborhoods.”
Piacesi hopes to enlist other professional photographers and student photographers, as well as writers to help document the stories of Memphis’ most impoverished residents.
“Art is so powerful, and I really think it can be used to change lives,” he said.
Another goal of Focus for the Good is its educational component. Piacesi hopes to teach photography skills to underprivileged children and clients of partner organizations to enable them to tell the stories of their communities.
“If I can take what I’ve learned over the last 25 years and pass it along to as many people as I can, then you’ve got maybe hundreds of people recording these stories as opposed to just me,” he said. “And hopefully, some of the people who would participate would have access to places that I wouldn’t.”
Piacesi is working to build his portfolio of local images and develop strong connections with the area’s safety net nonprofits in hopes of applying for grants to expand Focus for the Good’s work in the near future.
Whereas many people are accustomed to ignoring the homeless, photographer Bill Piacesi devotes himself to taking a closer look.
[Click to enlarge]
Photographer Bill Piacesi has created Focus for the Good, a Binghampton-based nonprofit that uses photography to raise awareness and money to help the poor. (Photo: Lance Murphey)
Black-and-white portraits capturing the weary, forgotten faces of Memphis’ most disenfranchised individuals adorn his workspace inside The Commons, a multi-tenant nonprofit center at 258 N. Merton St. in the city’s Binghampton neighborhood.
Piacesi’s photographs – which are reminiscent of Dorothea Lange’s influential Depression-era portraits – aim to create a deep emotional connection between the subject and viewer, and raise awareness around issues of social justice.
The subjects of his fine art portraits include a former master electrician and a woman with a college degree in early childhood education whose lives came undone largely because of undiagnosed and untreated mental illnesses, and an elderly Vietnam veteran who lives in a tent near Millington.
“In today’s world, I think all of us are one or two paychecks away from being pretty similarly affected by what’s going on,” Piacesi said. “I think it’s not only doing fine art portraits that visually will grab somebody’s attention and make them stop and look, but if we can tell the stories of these people, it could be so moving.”
Piacesi was himself moved by the poverty surrounding him daily when he relocated to Memphis from an affluent Northern Virginia suburb about two years ago, after his wife, Marie, accepted a new job as a medical laboratory technician.
Through his business, Piacesi Photographic Arts, the seasoned photographer was accustomed to photographing family portraits of the wealthy, extravagant weddings and the interiors of Washington-area mansions.
But the reality of life for so many residents of the Bluff City turned Piacesi’s attention to a new venture: a nonprofit called Focus for the Good (www.focusforthegood.org), which he founded in April 2011.
“The idea is that if we can do fine art portraits of the homeless and underprivileged, and get those images into public spaces where they can be seen, hopefully it will raise awareness of the number and diversity of people that have fallen on hard times,” he said.
With so many nonprofits having to make major cutbacks in recent years in response to the uncertain economy, Piacesi saw a need for nonprofit photography – to be used online and in marketing campaigns – particularly for smaller nonprofits working on shoestring budgets.
“I’d like to work with them to provide images that I can also use as part of Focus for the Good, so, it’s a win-win,” he said.
For larger nonprofits, Piacesi provides professional photography services at lower cost.
“If their budget is big enough and they can afford to pay me to come in, then I’m going to offer affordable photography services,” he said. “I’m not going to charge them what we would normally charge for a commercial shoot. I’m going to give them a decent discount.”
Currently, most of the nonprofits he works with are his neighbors at The Commons, a former Methodist Church building repurposed to provide space for smaller nonprofits such as Families of Incarcerated Individuals, Memphis School of Student Leadership and Door of Hope.
The Commons belongs to the Center for Transforming Communities, which fosters relationships between congregations and communities. The organization’s executive director Amy Moritz offered Piacesi studio/office space at Focus for the Good in exchange for his photography services.
“One of the things that he doesn’t have a lot of right now is funding, and one of the things I have a lot of is space,” Moritz said. “And one of the other needs that we have as an organization is how to continue to tell our story – the story of that building and the story of the rest of our work. In exchange for space, he’ll take photographs for the partners in the building, and he’ll take photos out in the field to help us tell the bigger story of how congregations and churches can connect with neighborhoods.”
Piacesi hopes to enlist other professional photographers and student photographers, as well as writers to help document the stories of Memphis’ most impoverished residents.
“Art is so powerful, and I really think it can be used to change lives,” he said.
Another goal of Focus for the Good is its educational component. Piacesi hopes to teach photography skills to underprivileged children and clients of partner organizations to enable them to tell the stories of their communities.
“If I can take what I’ve learned over the last 25 years and pass it along to as many people as I can, then you’ve got maybe hundreds of people recording these stories as opposed to just me,” he said. “And hopefully, some of the people who would participate would have access to places that I wouldn’t.”
Piacesi is working to build his portfolio of local images and develop strong connections with the area’s safety net nonprofits in hopes of applying for grants to expand Focus for the Good’s work in the near future.
