HOPE – Vernissage at Gotischer Kasten

The premiere of the charity photography exhibition HOPE – by Alexander von Wiedenbeck – an important milestone for the pioneer project of social responsibility within the reportage photography. For sure, the dreams and ideas are correspondingly ambitious. 52 fine art prints on handmade paper from Hahnemühle were mounted unframed at the Gotischer Kasten in Eggenfelden.

With extreme caution, the sensitive prints had to be positioned in the right light… one after the other. And even the light, of course, was not left by chance. The process of light tests with different color temperatures in connection with the black and white prints on handmade paper took more than a week. All in all, the preparations for the opening of the exhibition took more than 2 months.

But finally, we made it! – the grand opening of the premiere of HOPE – by Alexander von Wiedenbeck. More than 2,000 hours – from the journey in the Philippines, to the selection of images and development, the final selection for the exhibition catalog, the layout for the same, the final printing approval of each page, the organization of the exhibition to the premiere now at the Gotischer Kasten of the city of Eggenfelden , my hometown – volunteer!

An unimaginably great joy and heartfelt thanks, therefore, for the great response of the first station of the traveling exhibition. All in all, of the 100 photographs in the exhibition catalog, 52 large-format prints on hand-made Büttenpapier were shown. Moving feedback from visitors and the press alike confirmed the deep insights into the lives of children in the Philippines while underscoring the urgency of social responsibility in reportage photography.

More than 300 invited guests to the vernissage and almost 1,000 visitors during the exhibition time were able to generate – by selling the exhibits and the exhibition catalog – a total of over 25,000 euros in donations for the cemetery and dumpsite children in the Philippines .