2/15/2011

After three years of traveling around art spaces and galleries internationally, renowned fashion photographer Stefano Guindani’s “Haiti” exhibition lands in New York City. This is an ongoing project that the photographer has been working on in collaboration with the Francesca Rava N.P.H. Italia Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been carrying out charity endeavors in Haiti since before last year devastating earthquake. The exhibition, curated by Virginia Villari and presented by Cream Hotel Inc., aims at raising funds to help rebuilt the country and bring first necessity goods to its people.

During his first trip to Haiti in 2008, Guindani was struck by the never-ending poverty of the country and became aware of the humanitarian projects carried out by the Francesca Rava Foundation. The photographer made their mission his cause and decided to contribute his work to help raise funds for the Foundation.

The proceeds from the New York exhibition will be entirely donated to the Foundation’s latest project: the building a new home for the children orphaned by the earthquake or in desperate need.

The pictures on display in the show are a selection from “Haiti – Through the Eye of Stefano Guindani”, a 168 page book where the photographer gathered the photos he took during the seven trips he made to Haiti since 2008.  Both the photographs and the book have been used to raise funds in favor of the Francesca Rava Foundation.  So far they’ve been presented in Europe, in venues such as La Triennale di Milano, Villa Laetitia in Rome and the Valentino Boutique in Paris, among others. 

Some of the pictures have been autographed by personalities such as Nobel laureate Rita Levi Montalcini, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Giorgio Armani and Sophia Loren, in doing so giving their special contribution to the cause.

The exhibition will also present the video “Mr Brown is back to Town,” a project by the known Italian TV host, actor and radio speaker Andrea Pellizzari, directed by Stefano Guindani and Marco Salom, music by Sir Bobo Rifo of The Bloody Beetroots and produced by Universal. The video will be another fundraising channel for the Francesca Rava Foundation’s Haiti orphanage project.

Guindani’s work documents an extremely harsh reality, yet it’s also a portrait full of hope: through his eyes we see the strength of the Haitian people, who courageously smile in spite of their everyday tragedy.

The Francesca Rava N.P.H Italia Foundation is an independent, non-profit, charitable organization, whose mission is to provide aid to children in serious need around the world. In Italy, the Foundation is the representative of N.P.H. (Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos), a charity organization for orphans and abandoned children in Latin America, founded in 1954 by Father William Wasson, an American priest from Arizona. The Foundation has a special commitment to Haiti, where N.P.H has been working for 22 years under the guidance of Father Rick Frechette, a priest and doctor from Hartford, Connecticut, who’s been working on the front line to bring medical care, food, water, education and any assistance to orphans and to poor families. Now incorporated as 5013c in the USA, the tireless work of the Foundation is more vital now than ever before in its efforts to bring hope and build a future for so many children in need. 

Stefano Guindani (b. 1969) is an Italian fashion photographer, celebrity and international photo-journalist. In 1998 he founded his own agency, Stefano Guindani Photo (SGP), which provides editorial services to famous fashion houses and companies. SGP also offers catwalk/backstage shooting, reportage service, look-book, and advertising. Besides, it covers special events like Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, and fashion shows in Milan, New York and Paris. Stefano’s most important clients are: Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Diesel, Moschino, Alberta Ferretti, Salvatore Ferragamo, Max Mara, Bulgari, MINI, BMW. 

Exhibition Info:

CANOE STUDIOS 

601 west 26th St., Chelsea, New York, NY 10011

OPENING RECEPTION: Wednesday February 16th, 2011 from 7 pm to 2 am

Ongoing exhibition through March 16th