Beauty Beyond Borders has already begun to make a difference with your help. If you have been following the project, you have seen the work the students from Alianza Americana created. These collections of photos were presented in the posts below and based on your votes, the ‘fans favorites’ were presented in two different gallery showings. The photos above are a collection of these gallery showings, which not only allowed some supporters to take home their favorite Beauty Beyond Borders prints, but also raised money to help future students at Alianza Americana.
I absolutely loved being able to see and discuss all of the students work with everyone who attended the gallery showings. I was able to share stories behind certain photos that had been shared with me by the students, and it was amazing to see how much these stories changed the way people saw the photos. Personal experience was another element that completely altered the way a person viewed and felt about a photo. Someone who had been to Nicaragua and seen first hand the tunnels below the León Cathedral had a much different response to Hector’s potentially ominous photo than someone who had never been.
With your feedback and my experiences, what my first efforts as Beauty Beyond Borders has taught me is that everyone is impacted differently. From the very beginning the goal of Beauty Beyond Borders was not only to help these student’s share their photos and the beauty they know exists in their country, but also to open your eyes to the beauty you may be missing and have and impact in your own life. I have been working to find the best way to achieve these goals and have some exciting news and a challenge for all of you that will be announced soon. Thank you again to everyone who has helped support Beauty Beyond Borders thus far. Keep checking in because there will be more to come soon!