Last summer, Luca Zordan released his portrait book The Children of China, a project that put faces—young faces so full of potential—to the future of one of the most rapidly developing countries in the world, while raising money to benefit underprivileged kids there. Now Zordan is turning his attention to the youth of South Africa. Working with his Children of China collaborator, children’s fashion stylist Alethea Gold, he has embarked on a portrait project aimed at generating funds for creating afterschool sports programs for disadvantaged kids in South Africa. The Children of South Africa is still in the planning stages, and Luca and Alethea are just beginning to seek sponsorship, but Luca sent us a couple of early images:
In the meantime, the momentum for The Children of China is still strong. Luca just returned from Hong Kong, where selections from the book were being exhibited in a show co-organized by the Australian Consulate, with the Swire Group as the chief sponsor. Proceeds from that exhibition will benefit the Chi Heng Foundation, which helps children in Henan and Anui in central China who are from AIDS-affected families. In September, Gallery Number 1 in Shanghai will also mount an exhibition of Zordan’s portraits. For more on The Children of China, please visit http://www.thechildrenofchina.org/. To lend your support to The Children of Africa project, please contact Luca directly at luca [at] lucazordan.com.
The kids are often interviewed while they're having their portraits taken, and their commentary ranges from touching to hilarious. "I pretend I’m the devil and chase the mosquitoes away,” said the little girl pictured here.
Hang Wong, 6 years old, visiting the Beijing Zoo. “When I grow up, I want to be a policeman. I dream of owning a toy. My favorite hero is my classmate Wong Tao.”
A student at the Shanghai Dance Academy, a full-time ballet school.
Wang Wei Tang, age 4, ice-skating after school on a cold, cold day (it was 30 below zero) in Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China. “I dream of going to see how the strawberries grow,” she said.
“I wish I could wear my pink top every single day to school,” said 5-year-old Kuan Yae, in Gansu Province, western China.
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] Luca Zordan’s new project celebrates, and elevates, the children of South Africa [...]