The Band4Hope Project

As mentioned in my previous post, on Wednesday night my friend Olli and I attended a media launch put on by the people at The Band4Hope Project for their exhibition opening.
 
I first discovered this organisation at the Rose Street Arists Market in Fitzroy, when my ever inquisitive mother stopped at a stall and exclaimed "Oh! What is this all about?"
 
The stall held rows upon rows of identical copper bangles, all engraved with 'BAND4HOPE'
We got to talking with the beautiful Lucie, who is one of the incredibly talented and dedicated people behind the organisation.
 
The organisation is centred around the aforementioned copper (and zinc) wristbands, which are made by Zimbabwean families. The design was originally inspired by the tribes whom Lucie and her co-founder Lachlan  met whilst travelling in Namibia. The Zimbabweans are paid well for their craft and are therefore supporting their families in the process.

Source: Band4Hope

 
The idea behind the bands is that each one has it's own unique ID number engraved onto the bangle. Once purchased, the new owner logs onto the website and creates a profile to register their band. After about four weeks (or longer if you so choose) the owner passes on the bangle to another person. The condition to this is that the owner must have committed an act of kindness. The next person then logs on and adds themselves to the journey and the cycle continues. Eventually, you can log on and see where your band has travelled around the globe.
 
The process encourages acts of kindness from each human being that possesses a band and at the same time promotes awareness by travelling from person to person. It is, as the organisation has stated, "a gift that keeps on giving"
 
The Band4Hope bangles have been seen on celebrities such as Vivienne Westwood, Annie Lennox and Lily Cole.
 
One thing that I loved the most about purchasing my band is that everyone is encouraged to write on a tag and complete the sentence "I hope that in my lifetime...", which then gets tied onto a Tree4Hope (pictured in images below). The main spectacle of the exhibition is a huge installation that features more than 13,000 Hope tags collected in the UK at a range of festivals. You are welcome to add your own Hope tag to the tree if you choose.
I would tell you what mine said but then I'd have to kill you.
 
 
The exhibition is running until 17/02/2013 at:
No Vacancy Gallery
34-40 Jane Bell Lane
QV Melbourne
Melbourne 3000
(Enter off Russell Street)
Entry is free.
 
Wristbands can be purchased here
For more information, please visit their website here
You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

 

 

Pictures from my Instagram