102-year-old ‘Tessie’ asks the public to help fund this unique project.
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched on local platform Zaar to fund a unique photobook inspired by the personal stories of a woman who is 102 years old.
As a limited edition, bilingual photobook, ‘Tessie’ will show the agelessness of a Maltese dreamer as Giola Cassar’s photographs give a glimpse into the life and times of someone who has lived for more than a century.
“Page by page, portrait by portrait, one is drawn into a biographical collage that spans more than a century and becomes a fabricated textual narrative. Tessie is both the storyteller and the embodiment of all the places, objects and people she tells about,” explains Ms Cassar. “The book is over one hundred pages of carefully-constructed sequences of original and found imagery; delicate portraits dialogue with composites from old family albums. It all unfolds from close-ups of jewellery that have been passed down within the family.”
The photobook is the result of a collaboration between freelance photographer Giola Cassar, Maltese author and book artist Glen Calleja and graphic designer Adrian Gauci, and has already secured support via the Malta Arts Fund from Arts Council Malta. However, to be able to raise the €2,000 required to print and produce the 150-page, handmade photobook and prints, the team has opted to launch a crowdfunding campaign on local platform, Zaar.
“Zaar is a local-based organisation supporting exciting projects,” continues Ms Cassar. “By choosing Zaar I was able to meet up and discuss my project with professionals within the field, who have provided invaluable support throughout the whole process.”
Pending the success of the Zaar campaign, the ‘Tessie’ photobook launch will take place sometime between mid-September and the beginning of October – but backers to the campaign will be able to secure their copy earlier and bag an invite to the book launch, via pre-ordering for a discounted price.
Beyond the opportunity to pre-order the photobook, backers can also expect to receive one of a selection of attractive rewards, according to the amount that they have contributed. These rewards packages, which are named after items of jewellery in honour of Tessie herself, include thank-you emails, social media mentions, book credits, an invitation to the book’s exhibition and private viewing, a copy of exhibition posters, being named on event posters, digital or framed prints signed by Giola Cassar, supplementary historical documents about Tessie, and even a one-day narrative-building workshop.
Visitors are invited to see the ‘Tessie’ campaign at www.zaar.com.mt for more information or to make a donation.
