My latest attempts in experimenting with new ways to fund long-term photojournalism projects:
Last year, I documented the relief efforts in Nashville after the Cumberland River flooded the area in early May.
On Saturday, May 1, 2010, the banks of the Cumberland River near Nashville, Tenn., were breached due to torrential rainfall. After the water level reached over 20 feet in the intersection of Todd Preis Drive and Sawyer Brown Road in the Nashville suburb of Bellevue, the area was evacuated by boat on Sunday, May 2, 2010. Residents returned later in the week to gut their homes and move on with their lives.
Now a year later . . . Where are they? How are they coping? What obstacles have they overcome? Yet to overcome?
With your help on Kickstarter.com, I’d like to answer these questions.
What exactly is Kickstarter? Good question! According to their site, “Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields . . .On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.”
All contributions to this project will go directly towards travel and production expenses. The project will culminate in the publication of a documentary photo book recording the Nashville flood relief efforts.
Currently, the modest goal of $1,800 is budgeted towards four or five days of on-location work in Nashville, and will go mostly towards travel expenses (gas, lodging, etc.), as well as materials needed for the book.
Not only an experiment in storytelling, I hope this will also be a successful endeavor in exploring a new way to fund community journalism in this new age of online media.
Please join me as I experiment with a new way to fund journalism & be rewarded with exclusive prints, posters and other goodies.
Thanks for your support!
~ Chris Mackler
chris@macklermedia.com
