The JUMP Project Exhibition- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 02:50PM Giving Thanks:
I want to thank all the individual contributors. Without your donations towards this exhibition, it wouldn't have happened. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me, this project, and it's goals. To my parents for your lifetime encouragement and blessings, to Christopher Dadap for your endless support, to Larry Kleiman at Spectral Masters Di, Inc. for the incredible hard work and fantastic job with the canvas prints, you really listened to my vision and made them come to life; to Margaretha Moerkerke for suggesting I submit my press kit in the first place, to the staff at the Melkweg Galerie for their wonderful expertise, assistance, warm welcome, and making my first international showcase a memorable one, to Suzanne Dechert and JahofYork for their inspirational speeches given at the reception party; to Greg Payton and Jerome Bourgeois for your loyal friendship and advice, to all the subjects that I've had the opportunity to photograph and continue to keep in contact with, most of you are my friends now and I'm proud to have you in my life; to the Association of Hispanic Arts, and to all the new faces I've met at the reception party.
2008-2009, The full scoop on The JUMP Project Exhibition- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
It's been more than a year that Suzanne Dechert, Director/Curator and I were coordinating my first solo exhibition to be displayed at the Melkweg Gallery in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A lot of people asked me how was I able to get my work shown at such a prestigious organization.
To put it briefly: I was in Amsterdam last spring and a colleague of mine suggested I get in contact with the gallery. She believed that my project would do very well in Amsterdam. I took her advice and when I got back to New York, I emailed the gallery explaining the project and asked if they showcase international photographers. Fortunately I got a request asking to mail additional information about The JUMP Project! So I submitted a press kit that contained photos, bio, artist statement, video, etc., and waited for a response. A few weeks after the submission, I got an email about having a solo exhibition during the summer of 2009!
I was thrilled, and from that point on, began non-stop organizing for the show. Everything from fundraising, working with my printer technician on the canvas prints, studying the galleries floor plan and figuring out what mounting system to use for the gallery, researching what is the best mounting system and buying it, applying for grants, getting fiscal sponsorship from the Association of Hispanic Arts, approving the postcard Minou designed, dealing with international shipment and worrying about UPS delaying the shipment (oh that is a whole other blog in itself), updating the website, photographing new subjects, proposing a television travel/photography reality show, booking flights/accommodations for two, email blasts, Facebook blasts, friends sending invitations, having a lot of dedication, hard work, belief, and sacrificing sleep.
Fastforward 2009 - The exhibition was a success.
My parents always say to have faith that everything will work out, and I did. Just two days before the reception party there was a bit of stress (not to mention that I was SO SLEEP DEPRIVED). Minou (Suzanne's assistant) kept teasing me saying how much faster she was working, and honestly I just didn't have the energy to compete with her.
JahofYork invited his colleagues from the music and entertainment industry. I also met a wonderful group of American students studying in Amsterdam, retired professors, artists, agents, etc. After the reception we had dinner at the Melkweg Cafe, and partied in central Amsterdam. This was surely a memorable experience.
FYI about the gallery: "The Melkweg is one of the most well-known cultural centers within and outside The Netherlands, and is unique because of a program that unites five artistic disciplines under one roof: music, dance/theatre, film, photography and media art. Concerts, dance events, theatrical and dance productions, films, media art presentations and photo exhibitions are staged in five halls and several small rooms. The Melkweg, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1970 when a Dutch theatre group discovered a deserted dairy factory in the center of Amsterdam.
Hard work, ambition and NLG 25,000 (about EUR 11,000) enabled the group to transform the factory into a meeting place, initially during the summer only. During the 1970s, the Melkweg became a household name and started developing more in terms of content, offering room for experiments relating to music, theatre, dance and film." Official website: www.melkweg.nl
Check out some of the pictures below! After Amsterdam was Barcelona. Ole!
