December 15 2003
SOS Children's Villages - Something for the Guys (as well)!
15/12/2003 - The German edition of men's lifestyle magazine GQ has launched a charity initiative, "5 Photographs - 5 Continents - 5 SOS Children's Villages", in its latest issue. A booklet in the new issue shows photos by prominent photographers of five different SOS Children's Villages. The original photographs are on display in an exhibition in the Oliver Schweden Gallery in Munich until 17 January 2004.
Men's lifestyle magazine GQ, together with PENTAX, invited 5 noted photographers to shoot portraits of SOS Children's Villages all over the world. All of them are top-class representatives of their craft: the New Yorker Myriam Babin was in SOS Children's Village El Salvador; Philip von Hessen, who works for "Vanity Fair" and "Vogue" took shots of SOS Children on the beach in Bali near their SOS Children's Village; Mary McCartney-Donald (daughter of the former Beatle, Paul) - usually to be found shooting stars like Lou Reed and Sheryl Crow - has now immortalised the stars of SOS Children's Village Sarajevo on film; Christian Witkins field is customer magazines for famous firms - now he's contributing towards making the children from an SOS Children's Villages in Thailand famous; Frederike Helwig, otherwise specialising in fashion shots had a look around SOS Children's Village Mamelodi in South Africa with her camera.
It was the first intensive contact with an SOS Children's Village for the photographers - but it certainly won't be the last. "The people who work there are unbelievably committed and friendly," said Mary McCartney-Donald. Christian Witkins added: "The whole village is perfectly organised and each single house radiates warmth and security." Anyone who sees the photos will know what the photographers mean.
"GQ" and "Pentax" have brought the results together in a booklet. The booklet is part of the latest issue of German GQ. It isn't models or beautiful cars that stand at the centre of the magazine for this issue - it is children from SOS Children's Villages. The original prints are being shown in the Oliver Schweden Gallery in Munich. (Damenstiftstraße 11, entrance on Brunnstraße 6; until 17 January 2004 - Tues to Fri 2pm - 7pm and Sat. 11am - 4pm).