Loving yourself is the catalyst to living a big and beautiful life. The more you love, the more you want to share.
That quote is a precursor to just one of the inspirational stories being shared through The Love Umbrella Project, an art campaign and exhibition created to illuminate Vancouver in what sometimes feels like the loneliest month of the year: February.
The project, created by interior designer Kelly Deck, has partnered 13 organizations/communities with 13 professional photographers and one writer. Each partnership is tasked with creating a visual narrative through photos that expresses how love illuminates their community. Over the 13 days leading up to Valentines Day (starting Feb. 1), a new photo or photos and an accompanying story is released to the project web site.
The common thread throughout the photos are red, vibrant, heart-shaped umbrellas meant to represent hope, joy and love, said Carla Mitchell, Edelmans senior account executive with the project, in a media release.
The Love Umbrella Project culminates in an exhibition and silent auction on Valentines Day (Feb. 14; RSVP by Feb. 10), 6 to 9:30pm at 848 West Hastings St., where photos will be available for purchase.
All proceeds will be donated to Leave Out Violence (LOVE), a Vancouver organization dedicated to preventing youth violence.
Visit TheLoveUmbrellaProject.com to see the photo series and learn more about the event.
