New Orleans artist and photographer Jill Ensley, who until fairly recently served as NOPA’s communications director, is seeking funding for her next project, via the Kickstarter fundraising website: Completion of a book of photos and writing, “twenty-six days : the people and places of Made In China,” based on a photography and design-oriented visit she took to China in 2006.
A photo from this trip was included in the NOPA gallery exhibit “Work” in October and November 2010. Photos from the trip were also exhibited at the University of Kansas’ Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kan. and the Mulvane Art Museum at Topeka, Kan.’s Washburn University, as well as the Lianzhou Photo Festival in Lianzhou, China.
Ensley is seeking $6,000 in funding for the China project, and has set a pledge deadline of March 31, 2012. According to the artist, any Kickstarter funding received would be spent on producing quality items, including the photo book, as well as book promotion. She has already started working a self-published book via the Blurb photo book service.
For those not familiar with the popular site, Kickstarter is an online “crowdfunding” service, designed for the financing of creative projects. Those who pledge to fund projects are offered rewards, based on particular pledge levels. If a project fails to meet its financial goal by a set deadline, then it will remain unfunded, and people pledging funds will not be charged a dime.
For more information on the project, please see Ensley’s Kickstarter page.