LONDON: Last month, the website of Darat Al Tasweer — a Jordanian photography institute — became a repository for images by 80 celebrated photographers from across the globe as part of its For Gaza print sale campaign.
Arranged by Jordanian photographer Linda Al-Khoury, founder of Darat Al Tasweer, along with photographers Iman Al-Dabbagh, Sharif Sarhan and Laura Boushnak, the print sale was set up in response to violence in Gaza in May.
Al-Khoury had been thinking about ways to help the people of Gaza when she received a message from Al-Dabbagh asking if she was planning a print sale to raise funds because she and a group of photographers were interested in organizing one. They joined forces with Sarhan and Boushnak.
Linda Al-Khoury is the founder of Darat Al Tasweer. (Supplied)
The group settled on arranging an online print sale to “reach people beyond Jordan,” Al-Khoury told Arab News.
They managed to get 80 photographers to donate one image each to be sold at the fixed price of $100.
“All the photographers we reached out to were quickly accepted the invitation to participate. We’re very grateful to them for their trust in us and the campaign,” Al-Khoury said.
Interest in the print sale was huge, with 100 orders being placed within four days of launching the print sale, and a total of 240 prints sold by the end of the campaign. Orders came from many countries, including the US, Brazil, Australia, Gulf countries, Egypt, and Lebanon.
Rehaf Al-Batniji, Gaza. (Supplied)
“The idea was for photographers to participate regardless of whether their photos were taken inside Palestine or not. The diversity in the photos also helped with sales. We didn’t just want to support a cause, we also wanted people to acquire a beautiful photo, or a work by a photographer they like, while supporting (Gaza),” she adds.
The focus now is to direct the revenues of these sales towards “setting up funds for small production projects by Gazan photographers” as well as to “hold art-therapy sessions for children, with an attempt to cover more than one geographical area and reach as many children in Gaza as possible,” Al-Khoury explained.
Pleased with the success of the campaign, Al-Khoury is now considering holding print sales regularly, either to continue to support photographers, or branching out into other arts.
