A Successful Show! And What Happens Next…

The first thing I’d like to do is Thank all of you for your support in this project. Without you, we could have never come this far.

As you know, this last weekend was the culmination of the photography portion of the Sign of Hope Project. It was held at Urban Enoteca, a great wine/restaurant venue down in the SoDo district of Seattle. The bad news is that our Friday launch “event” was somewhat snowed out and the organizations we had partnered with to come accept donations were rerouted to help homeless men & women who were living outside in our worst winter storm of the year. Even Justin & Nathaniel were stuck in Los Angeles because of a cancelled flight. The good news is that people who managed to make it to the show on Friday stated their enjoyment of the images and video clips. Many people told us how they entered the show believing one thing and left the show with a completely different point of view. This was exactly what we set out to do. As I’ve said many times, I never meant to glorify or vilify panhandlers but instead, find the truth and educate the public.

I had some fantastic conversations with attendees and I was thrilled to share what we had learned. On Saturday, the weather had cleared a bit and before we opened the doors, Justin & Nathaniel arrived from the airport. That day we welcomed almost 200 viewers to the show. We spoke with as many as would listen and again, felt happy that we could continue to educate and bring joy to those who visited.

With the photography show over, the coffee table book is in it’s final stages as we waited to see about placing some images of the show inside. It should be ready for order this week and I’ll be placing a link on www.signofhopeproject.com. I’ve also attached a “video tour” I recorded for you before we opened the doors which also includes some audio tracks from our subjects as well as some of the organizations I’ve been interviewing for the film. I hope you enjoy it.

While we never intended to sell the prints, some people have expressed an interest in purchasing them. You can email me directly at matt@soundchange.org if you’re interested and I’ll speak with Justin & Nathaniel about pricing. Maybe we can raise some funds for one of the organizations who couldn’t make it.

So What Happens Next?

With the photography portion of the project complete, I now dive headfirst into the editing room for a while to prepare the film for a summer completion date. I still have a couple of interviews to film but I have everything I need to build a great foundation. It’s shaping up to be some of my best work and although there will be much to do before a public release, I’ll be releasing a “screening” copy to our investors as soon as it’s complete. It just can’t be shared to the public at that time. I will do my best to update you with clips as I go.

I feel like I’ve been given an opportunity to educate the public on a topic that’s almost intentionally ignored by most people.
Thank you for giving me that.