Colours of Our Community 2017 Book

G'day! My name's Markham Lane. I'm a Sydney-born Aussie photographer and today, I am looking for your help.

Back in 2006 I decided it was time to do something in my way, to help change people's attitudes towards same sex attracted individuals and that of LGBTQI communities by using my creative marketing skills. With my professional media background, I decided to buy a digital camera and started taking photos of my friends.

I called the project, "Colours of Our Community".

The vision required working with individuals, community groups, LGBTQI businesses and organisations, using my artistic skills to help show the world that we're all one collective - human beings united by a computational mind and the capability to love and accept each other equally.

Over ten-years, I worked on a part-time basis on this project on a completely voluntary basis to create my own art, while freelancing my services to community businesses and media companies to produce some really outstanding content.

In the process, I won a couple of photographic awards, had the honour of landing cover images and feature articles for a range of magazines and telling the visual stories in still and video format for businesses that advertise to large communities.

I was a major contributor to the largest LGBT+ photographic mural in the southern hemisphere and I even managed to land "official photographer" status to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras as a sponsor and supplier to them over a number of years.


By July 2016, I had accumulated over 40,000 images.

The task before me was to edit the collection down for an artistic exhibition and book, celebrating the diversity, equality and aims for love of the community and make the move to become a full-time photographic artist and documentarian.
 
My exhibition "Colours of Our Community" launched in February 2017 as a Premier Event in the 2017 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras calendar.

Here's a video that introduces the exhibition as it occurred on opening night, 21st February 2017.


The aim over the next ten years is to tour the exhibition, to spread the good word of how we all celebrate the "Colours of Our Community" and at the same time, expand on the collection in LGBTQI Pride capitals around the world and make this artistic collection a truly global showcase.

I want to produce another book every year after touring and also share the collection with Diversity Programs everywhere I go, so they can use it for their purposes.

By 2026, I hope to achieve my vision of making the world a more tolerrant and accepting place, by exhibiting our visual stories in modern art museums all around the world.

Making that a reality is a monumental but not impossible undertaking. And I am determined to make it happen, even though it's going to cost a lot to realise. And that's where you come in.

Today I am seeking your assistance for my cause. There are a few ways you can help:

1) Purchase the  2017 PREMIER EDITION of the "Colours of Our Community" book. Each print will be individually numbered in the order of their publication and hand signed by me in 18-carat gold.


There are 20 copies being released in this 1st Edition Print Run, making your purchase right now a valued investment that will only increase in value over time, especially as other editions and additional print runs are produced in the coming years.

2) Purchase REGISTERED POST to deliver your book purchase with special handling and online tracking to your door. This is a requirement for EVERY book purchase.

As of 20th August 2017, the book has now gone to print. Deliveries are expected by late September.

3) DONATIONS can also be made of any value you decide, by clicking on the DONATE button.

So how does your contribution get used? 

The cost of custom-printing artworks and books is significant. Then there are also travel and exhibition costs...

I also want to create a community of champions that share our values of "celebrating diversity, equality and LGBTQI love" here in Australia and across the world.

United together, we'll be conducting a rolling series of programs to stand for and share our values, with the hope that we can broaden acceptance within the mainstream, to those out in regional areas and most especially to LGBTQI youth struggling to come to terms with their own sexuality or gender.

With your help and your invaluable contribution, then together, we can make the world a better place!

Thank you so much for your consideration.

And an extra special thank you to anyone that shares this page on social media.

Love and light and always in full glorious colour,

Markham Lane
Founder, Colours of Our Community 
www.markhamimages.com