© Hanane El Ouardani
The charitable print sale’s co-founder, Isabella van Marle, reveals to Sarah Moroz the stories behind some of the images featured this year
Sometimes small gestures can lead to meaningful support — and Pictures for Purpose understands this. The Dutch foundation uses photography, in the form of a print sale, as a means of raising money to aid urgent humanitarian causes.
Pictures for Purpose was founded by creative consultant and curator Isabella van Marle alongside creative director Kunna Haan, digital marketer Tijn Benedek and graphic designer Raisa Kingma. Van Marle curates “a variety of photographs that cross different aesthetics and themes” intended to speak to photography aficionados and amateurs alike; “I believe it’s important to feature both established artists and emerging talent,” she emphasises.
“I think the concept of the photography print sale fundraiser is a good example of a collective attempt for positive change”
Since its foundation in 2020, the annual print sales have previously contributed to the Dutch Food Bank, the environmental initiative Justdiggit, and funnelled funds to those affected by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well as the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Participating photographers to these causes have spanned Harley Weir, Alec Soth, Carmen Winant, Myriam Boulos, Coco Capitan, Vivianne Sassen, Gregory Halpern, Jack Davison and Dana Lixenberg.
For its fifth edition, the money raised will be donated to two charities: Taawon’s Noor, which provides support for children orphaned in Gaza, and Beit el Baraka, which ensures student access to education in Lebanon throughout this turbulent period. Proceeds from the print sale will be divided between both organisations.
The sale, which runs until 10 December, rallies together 40 international artists, including the American luminary Susan Meiselas, and a handful of artists with deep ties to the region, including American-born Palestinian photographer Dean Majd and Lebanese photographer Mohamad Abdouni.
Given the recipients of the fundraiser, children are featured in several photographs. An image by Lebanese photographer Nader Bahsoun, from his project Southern Birds, shows two girls conspiratorially leaning on each other. “The photo was taken in the streets of his hometown, Tyre, which is now inaccessible – before his family home was destroyed,” van Marle explains. A photograph by Jordanian-American Tanya Habjouqa portrays a young girl backgrounded by the sea, donning “the party dress she wore the night before at a wedding, at the Deir al-balah Refugee camp in Gaza,” van Marle explains. “She begged her father to let her keep wearing it, as she felt like a princess.”
Less geographically rooted, Adrianna Glaviano’s image features an arrangement of boiled eggs in a bubbling pot; David Luraschi spotlights a young model within a rocky landscape on Lanzarote; and Nicola Lo Calzo glimpses at a bucolic view of white horses on a flourishing farm. Cumulatively, van Marle notes, “the photographs touch upon themes of hope, solidarity, freedom, grief, loss and memory, to name a few.”
“Photography can foster change in so many ways. It’s an accessible yet powerful medium for conveying stories and emotions,” van Marle says. “I think the concept of the photography print sale fundraiser is a good example of a collective attempt for positive change.” She candidly acknowledges: “we’re not solving core issues or saving the world with a print sale.” Nonetheless, she stresses: “we do have a platform, and we strive to contribute to charities in a creative way.”
Each print costs €129; they are unsigned and printed by Amsterdam-based Fotolab on 22 x 32 cm paper
