About
I met Misako Akimoto in 1995 when she had just finished a three year project documenting an African American church community called, Sunday Morning at New Sweet Home. Misako comments, "While their neighboring cities as well as our whole nation gave them the title, Murder Capital of the Nation, I found a real and amazingly alive humanity. I still believe I was one of the very first to report a positive image of East Palo Alto to the world."
In Power Play, Misako once again shines her unique light on another misunderstood community. She helps us see the strong, abled and vibrant folks that they are. "In our society I see walls built up around groups especially for the physical differences. Most people just don't know much about the reality of those walled out of the community. My tool, documentary photography, is there for such cases."
Misako photographed these communities over a four year period and built a touching body of work in rich black and white images to represent these worthy people, ablebodied and disabled alike.
I am a graphic designer and when I saw Misako's images, I knew I wanted to help her realize her vision to turn it into a beautiful book. I designed the book to be a large format 9" x 12" with a French-fold cover using the finest paper. There are over 144 images printed in 4-color black and white, on 96 pages. The Kickstarter funding will allow Misako to realize her goal to print and distribute Power Play, allowing others to experience these remarkable people. ~ Penny Bayless
Power Play documents three East Bay communities of disabled people of all ages who are on the move. Below is a small sample of images from the book.
Aquatic Park / Berkeley California
Trooper's Troop / Captions by Trooper Johnson
"Trooper Johnson teaches popular sports like basketball, hockey, and kayaking to young kids who use wheelchairs. He acts as their mentor, showing them how to use their hands, torsos, hips, and most of all their brains to take part in sports and go forward in life."
"I’ve known him since he first climbed El Capitan to the summit in 1998. He did it again in 2000, this time with national television and newspaper coverage. His feat was an inspiration to the disabled community, especially, kids." ~ Misako
All Hands
"In the summer of 2011, Saraswathi Devi, the director and yoginee at Yogalayam in Berkeley, California, introduced me to a unique class that she held at the UC Berkeley sports facility. The class, Cal Star Yoga, is one of the university’s official educational programs. It teams physically disabled participants of various ages with students and volunteers, giving everyone involved a totally new and unexpected learning experience." ~ Misako
Current show: April 1–30, 2015. "Other Space––Photographic essay of Tamano Butoh Dance Company." Subterranean Arthouse, 2179 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Below are images from Misako Akimoto's 1995 project documenting an African American church community called, Sunday Morning at New Sweet Home.
Risks and challenges
This is about as low risk as it gets. All the photographs for the book have been taken. The book has been designed, edited, and is ready to print. The printer, Infinity Press in San Carlos, CA, has bid on the project. If we get the funding to print, we are ready to go!
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Funding period
- (40 days)