It's hard to believe that The Monochromatic Charity Exhibition is already took place more than a month ago! But alas, it's that time of the year where the holidays are yet again upon us, and time just tends to escape us. 

Before we wrap up 2023, I wanted to take some time on the holiday break to give everyone a bit of an update on what is going on with the project, how your donations have made an impact, and possible future plans 😀

Recapping The Monochromatic Charity Exhibition

I know that life can tend to get away from us quickly, especially at this time of the year, so I wanted to just quickly recap what the goals of the project were. Essentially, I spent a fair amount of time in Uganda in May of 2023, and while there most of my time was spent skating with friends, teaching the local crew how to get started with and/or progress with their skating, and focusing a bit on my street photography on the side. 

I really loved some of the images I captured while in Uganda, so I decided to fuse my passions of skateboarding and photography to try and give something back to the lovely community I got to spend time there, and that's when the concept of The Monochromatic Charity Exhibition (TMCE) was born.

The vision & Goal of TMCE

My goal was to raise 500 USD by "selling" my photographs from Uganda in order to purchase closed-toe shoes for students of skateboarding in the region. Selling is in quotation marks, because there was no real transactions happening, those interested would simply donate to a GoFundMe where 100% of donations (minus GoFundMe fees) would be sent directly to Uganda.

While I was in Uganda, I noticed that many participants, child and adult alike, would show up to sessions and workshops with flip-flops, other types of sandals, or absolute worst case, barefoot. For those unfamiliar with skateboarding a sport, this is extremely dangerous and can very easily lead to injury.

This was something I aimed to change via this project.

So in November of 2023, I hosted my very first photo exhibition in Leipzig where anyone could stop by, grab a drink, check out my photograph selection in person, and donate to own the image of interest.

What did TCME accomplish?

Simply put, we smashed our goal! Thanks to the support of everyone who attended, we were able to raise 624 USD which was 125% above our goal! These funds have already been sent to Uganda, and the NGO I work with there (Skate & Beyond) has already been working with distributors to get shoes to the participants, and the donations have equated to 75 pairs of closed-toe shoes for learners of skateboarding in the region! ❤️ 

Future TCME Plans

Currently I've got no set plans for another exhibition, however I do want to keep supporting skateboarding in Uganda as it is a cause very near and dear to my heart. I may start a similar smaller scale project with postcards, as I have a ton of postcards left over from the event, and I think I can maybe do something cool with these, but I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

A thank you from our friends in Uganda

Annnnnd from myself of course! Below are some videos and some photos I've directly from my friends running Skate & Beyond in Uganda. Here you can see everything your donations have contributed to, and for me, this is the perfect way to end a year, and to kick off the holiday season for 2023. 

Thank you for believing, thank you for contributing, and thank you for helping spread the joy of skateboarding. 😘

A very special thanks going out to Nepomuk Bar in Leipzig for hosting my event! Please support them by stoping by and having a delicious drink 🍻