Hipstamatic Launches ‘Cause Beautiful’ Philanthropic Foundation – Empowering Young People
Hipstamatic have launched a philanthropic foundation called Cause Beautiful, the aim is to help inner-city kids use photography to document their own communities. It has launched under the direction of Luanne Dietz, an Emmy Award Winning Photographer and former staff member at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Cause Beautiful is a 501c3 that offers a mobile photography project focused on empowering inner-city youth, along with providing grants to fund photographers and their work. To Cause Change is to Cause Beautiful.
“The foundation’s goal is simple.” said Dietz. “We believe that photography has the ability to change the world.”
‘I am really excited about this new foundation launched by Hipstamatic and am looking forward to working closer with them on it very soon…’
Do Beautiful:
Cause Beautiful’s first project is a student arts initiative called The W.H.Y. Project, which stands for ‘We Hear You’. Prompted with the question, “If you could tell the world anything, what would you say?,” students from Life Learning Academy in San Francisco and KDOL’s Media Enterprise Alliance in Oakland, will spend the semester using mobile photography to capture issues that are important to them and their communities.
Dietz started The W.H.Y. Project three years ago after teaching photojournalism in an inner city middle school and learning what the students are capable of when someone believes in them.
“There is an emerging generation that is looking for a way to express themselves and get out of the vicious cycle of unattainable dreams as seen in low income neighborhoods,” Dietz said. “Their eyes have become their voice, and their voice needs to be heard.”
Make Beautiful:
Along with The W.H.Y. Project, Cause Beautiful will be sponsoring grants and scholarships for professional photographers to continue to Make Beautiful and hold society accountable through their stories.
“From mobile photography to longterm personal projects, professionals need funds to tell the stories they care about, and we want to empower that.” Dietz said.
Dietz has spent the last ten years working in the photojournalism industry and is a trained visual storyteller. Her ability to capture story and bring that out in people comes second nature to her compassion.
In 2009 Hipstamatic changed the pace of mobile photography by introducing the filtered, square image. In recent history, images made through the medium from war zones and natural disasters have appeared on the front pages of national and international newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times and Time Magazine.
“Photography gives anyone the ability to capture their story and share it with the world,” said Lucas Allen Buick, CEO & Founder of Hipstamatic. “After partnering with The W.H.Y. Project we knew this was the perfect match. Together we can help creative people change the world by capturing and sharing how they see it.”
For more information please visit http://www.causebeautiful.org
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
