Beyond FANTASTIC PHOTOGRAPHY: WOMEN WHO LIGHT THE DARK by Paola Gianturco

Britt Bravo over at Have Fun * Do Good has done it again! Talk about a comprehensive treatment of a worthy subject. In October she featured the impressive and important coffee table book, Women Who Light the Dark by photojournalist extraordinaire Paola Gianturco, and now she’s followed up with the transcript of a terrific interview she recently conducted with Gianturco.

Gianturco is donating 100 percent of her royalties from her latest book to the Global Fund for Women, which provided grants to the 18 women profiled in the pages of Women Who Light the Dark. The GFW advocates for and defends women’s human rights by supporting women’s groups around the world. Check out the Shine YOUR Light section of the colorful Women Who Light the Dark site to learn about international women’s issues and how each one of us can help.

Gianturco has also published other photographic collections of strong women in Celebrating Women and In Her Hands: Craftswomen Changing the World, also published by the impressive powerHouse Books of Brooklyn.

One other note: Britt’s latest post discusses an intriguing introduction to TheCommunity.com. Currently in its beta stage, TheCommunity.com is a “new social network for peace and human rights.” It offers a place “where you can come and find out about, follow, and in some cases directly interact with people who are working on a grassroots level to build peace. It is also an opportunity to meet others around the world who, like you, are interested in improving conditions in the world.”

Hope, indeed, does not disappoint. As Gianturco notes about the stories she’s gathered of the hopeful-beyond-reason, energetic, highly imaginative activists she’s met and photographed and profiled: “I thought, in a world so full of bad news, maybe it would be heartening to have good news like this. And, at a time when the international women’s movement is facing challenges, it would be great to have a reminder that good news is going on, that good work is being done, that progress is happening.” Thanks, Britt, for continually updating us on such good works! What a great way to start the day.