I’ve been to Kolkata, India on 8 separate trips since 2013. It has become a second home for me. Even the parts that make me uncomfortable – the constant cacophony of blackbirds, or the scents that I’m so unused to – have become a beacon of home. The blackbirds especially. I used to stay awake listening to their sounds; now they lull me to sleep and awake again in the morning.

I shot these images in Kolkata. I remember the day so well because we laughed the whole way through it. We – my partner in India, Laura Price – scouted a location. We had to do some begging to get this establishment to let us shoot here. The location: a horse stable. They were very wary of our presence… both the horses and the business.

I needed sticks. So, after securing our location, we scoured the grounds looking for sticks. But, it was so well manicured that that, despite the myriad of trees, they had absolutely no sticks laying around.

I’m a DIY kind of girl. When I need sticks, I find them. But being in the middle of a city with an extremely small car, I was out of luck. So, we went to a stick vendor.

Yes, that’s right – a stick vendor. And low and behold, we were able to buy many bundles of sticks. We had to hire a tuk tuk to get them to our venue, and everyone thought we were psychotic.

The funny thing was that it felt like normal life to me. See, I’m used to doing weird things for self-expression. Others aren’t, and sometimes I forget just how weird I seem to people. My everyday experience means dressing up in strange costumes, crawling into dirty places, or smearing myself in paint. I don’t think it’s so much the things I’m doing that freaks people out – it’s that I make time to do weird things for self-expression. Even the things that take a long time to clean up, or are inconvenient.

I know how important self-expression is. I know the value of being able to create something and say, “That’s me. That’s really me.”

And so I pass those lessons on when I go to Kolkata. I teach self-expression. I teach the value of doing weird things purely for yourself.

On this day, I got to work with some very experienced individuals. These women are Dance Movement Therapy trainors. They have done extensive work in how to move your body to heal. And they have done work to ensure others find that same empowerment. Their organization is called Kolkata Sanved.

The girls and I had been working together for years when I shot these images, so they only thought I was mildly crazy when I asked them to come in their best saris and cuddle up in a horse stable in a pile of sticks.

Mildly crazy.

I did get a lot of long stares, and questions of if I was serious, and then a lot of laughing. And a lot of selfies. Obviously.

The program that I run in India (and other countries, like Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Greece) is called “If I Could Fly”. It is a workshop that asks the question, “If you could fly, where would you go? What would that look like?”. I teach how to use a camera to express your deepest emotions. We often deal with themes of freedom, dreams, and emotional pasts.

These images were inspired by that title. These women are exemplary of the mission we are all trying to uphold: to empower those who have been through hardship to rise up and fly.

I hope you enjoy these images.
I hope you inspire someone today.

And I hope that, if you’re feeling down, you remember these women and all they are doing for their community. They regularly build up women who have been trafficked and have been through abuse to help them fly.

Well done, sisters.

We have made great leaps forward during my last trip there and are almost ready to open the doors to the first class of 15 students. I am partnered with Blossomy, the amazing organization that I work through in India, as well as New Light, an organization in Kolkata to help survivors of human trafficking. The partnerships are in place, a location is rented, a curriculum has been set, we are securing the main instructors, and we will open doors officially in October 2015. Now it is time to fill the space…”The Light Space”, to be exact…a play on our partner organization’s name, New Light, and referencing the safe space that these individuals will have to create in.

We are looking for donations to run the school, as using our limited budget for equipment would deplete it quickly, and we need that money to go toward payment of instructors and rental fees.

What we need (any brands, new or used!):

DSLR Cameras
Lenses
Batteries/Chargers
Memory Cards
Tripods
Camera Bags
Laptops/Chargers

If you would like to donate, email me for an address.

My assistant will be gathering the equipment. This address expires in May, so please ship donations before MAY 2015. I will be sending HUGE THANK YOUs to everyone involved. And really, truly, thank you for aiding in the fight against human trafficking and for your generosity. Even if you cannot give anything at this time, thank you for reading and for spreading the word. You are light.

For any questions regarding donations, you can contact me through my website at:

www.brookeshaden.com/contact 

Art Gallery AFK: Staging and Revelation, Group Show
Lisbon, Portugal
March 7-April 12

This show is going to be an absolute delight, this I already know…and I’m definitely not talking about my own work, but the work of so many artists that I adore, like Daria Endresen. I wish I could go…I’d be totally starstruck!!!

Harrington Street Arts Centre: IF I COULD FLY
Kolkata, India
March 7-12

Completely near to my heart, this is, finally, the exhibition of the pictures I shot in India last year featuring the women from the shelter home benefiting survivors of human trafficking. Also featured are the self-portraits the women did to tell their own stories through art. I will be attending this exhibition and doing a live self-portrait demo as well.

The Project Room, Group Show
Chicago, IL
March 1-31

I’ve had my work in The Project Room for the last year and now we’re collaborating on a group show for the month of March. I really love this gallery and I wish I could be there in person! I have two pieces represented there and I hope you enjoy them!

A self-sustaining photography school free for survivors of human trafficking.

This is where we hope to have your help and support. The incredible photo community is one of a kind and I believe that if everyone donated just one dollar, the could fund this project. I am so hopeful, nervous to ask, humbled, and eager to see this project off the ground. So many emotions running through my body…so I’ll leave it there. I’ll let the campaign page say it all.

And if we do nothing else today, let’s promote passion in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Donate to the
Photography School for Survivors of Human Trafficking