A Dell business development manager will be selling his own art during a self-hosted exhibit, with the hope of raising a six figure digit for charity.
Hany Maurice, Business Development Manager, Software and Peripherals, ME, will be selling his own photos, along with a small selection of others, to a high end clientèle over two nights next week.
The event, named Moments, has been designed as a way of exhibiting amateur photography which captures definitive moments from around the world, and Maurice has acquired the help of business partners in an attempt to create high quality art for a specific invite only audience.
“We wanted to give something back to the community we live in. We live among some poor people, some sick people, and some people less fortunate than us. We don’t want anything from them, we just want to let them know that we want them to have a better life. By living in the Middle East, we got a chance to see these people who live in different circumstances, we are all part of this ecosystem,” said Maurice.
“We teamed up with Epson and they framed and finished our images to the highest standards, these prints will last 15-20 years. It’s not a charity event where people mingle and sell things, it’s a high class art gallery where we will be exhibiting real quality art.”
The event will run on the 6th and 7th of November and Maurice hopes it will be the start of an event he can host quarterly.
“The hope is to do one each quarter. We’ve had such a good response from people in a very short time for this event and word of mouth will be critical. We’re making sure it’s worth it, we have executives flying over especially from New York to exhibit their personal images, some of which are just fantastic, I think we will sell a lot,” he said.
“We have spent a lot of money on producing something that isn’t just a purchase for charity’s sake. These pieces will be something people want to take and keep in their home. We spoke to professionals and had our images valued so people are paying the correct price, with the choice of paying more if they choose. So they’re giving their money to a piece of art and at the same time helping people.”
Dell has been extremely supportive according to Maurice, who claims that the company will match whatever he makes.
“For every dollar we raise, Dell adds another. They’ve been great, the emails being sent out haven’t come from me, they’ve come from executives from within the company, so people are taking notice, plus they’ve been supportive of the meetings and trips we’ve had to take whilst rounding up the artists and visiting places to take photographs. They’ve given us time, that’s been the important thing, time to meet, time to organise, and time to get things right.”
Maurice said that he hopes more amateur photographers who work full-time in other industries will come forward and exhibit their art. Claiming that passion for the definitive moment was the most important thing.
“I’m just an amateur photographer who loves his hobby. It took a while to get others to come forward but when you have passion and persistence, people finally feel comfortable, and as a result we have a superb gallery.”
Maurice has dubbed his movement ‘Purpose Driven Photography’. The name represents the idea that the photographs are taken in order to serve the purpose of helping others.
“We focus on supporting cancer patients through DellWise, and we also teamed up with the United Nations Population Fund, they accept individual donations from people like us. Also, it will help raise awareness for the people we want to help.” he said.
“This is the seed event, hopefully people will enjoy it, see it as a success, and the interest will rise.”
CPI is proud to be an official media sponsor for the event.
