Taking inspiration from the film 'Calendar Girls', North Staffordshire Carers Association (NSCA) have linked up with Venture in Hanley, in a bid to raise money and awareness of their efforts for carers in the local community. They have posed au-natural, à la Helen Mirren from the hit film, with strategically placed buns and all!
Studio manager Nina Preece said "This is a fabulous project to get involved with. All the carers are such wonderful people, and they wanted to give something back to the NSCA to say thank you for the support it gives. All the models in the calendar are active carers, looking after children, parents and spouses, so this really has given them a boost in morale. We were only too happy to get involved, and the images look fantastic."
Delphine Bloor of the NSCA approached Venture Hanley to support the initiative after seeing the contemporary art pieces the studio produces. "Being a charity organisation, we had no budget to spend but knew that to produce this calendar we would need to engage a professional photographer who would donate their time and who could also produce great photos.
"Venture has been fantastic throughout every stage of the process, making all the models feel comfortable, as we were really nervous, and encouraging everyone to be at ease. We couldn’t have done this without them," comments Delphine.
The carers have each been photographed at the studio on New Hall Street for the calendar which will be available in 2009. All proceeds from sales of the calendar will go to the NSCA.
A preview evening is taking place for all involved at the studio during National Carer's Week, 9 – 15th June.
The unveiling of the final images to a wider audience will be hosted at a glam exhibition evening at the Venture studio during in the coming weeks. It will be attended by the carers, as well as local dignitaries, retailers and business associates.