Santa Monica Exposed

I was tasked to help create a campaign that would empower the larger Santa Monica community to help the homeless community. While coming up with ideas, we realized that most people are scared of the homeless; rather than seeing the person, we focus on their homelessness, advert our eyes and cast their situation as irrevocable.

In this campaign, we aim to humanize our homeless neighbors by arming them with cameras and presenting their authentic and inspiring point-of-view through platforms that are comfortable and convenient for others to engage with. In doing so, we will give the homeless a voice and allow the larger community to see homelessness in a brand new light; to see what they see; and to finally see the person behind the cardboard.

PARTNERSHIPS:

We will partner with the various homeless shelters in Santa Monica and their life skills programs to hand out cameras to the homeless community. Questions will be included with the camera to help get the artist's creative juices going.

Social Media:

Social media accounts featuring the photos and quotes of our artists will allow the community to interact with the homeless population, thereby giving the homeless a voice and community an opportunity to understand their homeless neighbors.

Online Hub:

A website will be created to further explain the purpose of the campaign and to give more information on our artists. Through the website, users can also purchase a print. All proceeds will go to homeless shelters in Santa Monica.

Out-of-home:

To create awareness of and interest in the campaign, we will hold a pop-up gallery/PR stunt on the highly trafficked Third Street Promenade. Structures looking like cardboard cut-outs will be holding photos taken by the photographer. Cardboard is the material chosen since that is most associated with the homeless and the structures help drive home that we want to pay attention to the people behind the cardboard.

Leveraging the online marketplace:

To generate additional revenue for the homeless shelters, we will create a Twenty20 (the largest stock photography site for mobile photographers) and Society6 (an online marketplace for artists) account for the campaign where people can purchase prints.