CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing) is delighted to announce an exhibition of photographs taken in Bangladesh by Misako Ono and in Ethiopia by Emily Piper documenting specific actions this generation is taking to make the world better for the next. Photographs documenting some of the women depicted in the documentary HALF THE SKY are also included as well as photos of some of the girls who have received educational assistance from HALF THE SKY featured NGO Room to Read. The exhibition opened on August 3 and will close on August 29, 2013. An Opening Reception with the photograpers and light refreshments was held on Saturday, August 3, 2013 from 6 – 7:30 pm.

Any profits from the sale of the photographs will be donated to the Eleshu Kellensoo Mokonissa Primary School Library in Kellensoo, Ethiopia, which has been funded by Think Coffee and its partners Nardos Exports & The Bushwick Seed Company. In conjunction with the exhibition HALF THE SKY will be screened at CRS on August 10 from 2:30 – 7 pm.

About Photographer Misako Ono

Misako’s interest in photography began in her freshmen year of high school when she took a digital photography class. Finding passion in capturing the life around her and sharing it with others, she furthered her learning by taking pre-college courses at Rhode Island School of Design and Pratt Institute. She is now a rising junior at Tufts University, studying Sociology and Mass Communications while taking photographs for the campus daily newspaper and publications. This past year, she focused on multimedia storytelling in the Program for Narrative and Documentary Practices at Tufts taught by photojournalists Gary Knight and Samuel James. Using multimedia as a platform to look at social issues, she completed a project documenting the story of a homebirth midwife working in the Boston area, bringing attention to this alternative process of birth. At the end of the year, the program took her on a workshop to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she created a photo essay about a mother living in the slums of the megacity. The camera is a tool for her to connect with the people she captures and to understand the world. Misako would like to keep pursuing and developing skills to become a documentary photographer.

Misako Ono Artist Statement:

Shortly after I picked up a camera for the first time, photography became my alternative mode of communication. It provided a creative connection that soothed and stimulated my shy nature. English was my second language, yet sharing my photography enabled me to open up and navigate my adolescent years. My studies in college piqued an interest in social justice, at which point I turned to predominantly documentary photography. Upon discovering the power of visual language, I decided I wanted my photographs to tell stories and provide voices to those who are either silenced or too quiet to be heard. At the end of my sophomore year, I was given the opportunity to travel to Bangladesh and create a documentary photo project of my choice. I chose to chronicle a housewife for my project because this single woman represents a vast population of women with every valid reason to speak up but no ability to do so. With my photos, I hope to provide an honest look into a world that deserves awareness and a platform for people to connect and bring change to the issues.

About Photographer Emily Piper

Emily Piper recently graduated from NYU with a Master’s in Food Systems. She traveled with Think Coffee to Peru and Ethiopia to discover more about the people and places that create our coffee. Emily will soon begin her first year as a middle school teacher in Miami, Florida, where she will work to include food production and consumption in her science classes.

About Think Coffee

Think Coffee is a New York-based coffee company that has bought coffee from the Kellensoo region in the past. For the past several years, Think Coffee has been an outstanding neighbor to CRS, contributing to the cost of our renovation in 2010 and never failing to act in a thoughtful and neighborly fashion. We are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with them on a project dear to their hearts and ours.

About Room to Read

We envision a world in which all children can pursue a quality education, reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world.

To achieve this goal, we focus on two areas where we believe we can have the greatest impact: literacy and gender equality in education.  We work in collaboration with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the life skills they’ll need to succeed in school and beyond.