Portland: On Thursday the 16th of October, we hope you will join us...Bless and be blessed.

Hello All: I just flew from New York to Portland for this wonderful night of art and healing.

Please do join us. Let's make this a special evening of healing and love.

All my best,

//layla

Come Join Us this Thursday in PORTLAND, Ore. For beautiful music, art & purpose. All proceeds go to the Jenny Love MS Angel Fund. Thank you. Bless*

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sept 25, 2008

Contact: Allison Kramer, Studio 79, (503) 867-1713
Taurmani Fentress, (503) 937-8882


FUNDRAISER AND EVOLUTIONARY ART GATHERS FOR AWARENESS

AND ACTION. CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT: REVOLUTION

BEGINS WITH PERSONAL EVOLUTION.


Portland, Ore.---It is an event and an invitation highlighting the influential and poetic work of photographer Allison Kramer, photographer/activist Layla Love with spoken word artist Climbing PoeTree. In this time of crisis, we attack compliancy and come together, not only to save what freedoms we are now afforded, but also to work to gain back our rights to health, happiness, and community. The event is October 16th, 2008 at the Olympic Mills Commerce Center, located at 107 SE Washington St. Portland, Ore.

"Change is the Only Constant" is a culmination of work by various acclaimed artists, working with different mediums towards a common goal. Realizing that at this time in our national and global history, it is imperative to work together for the welfare of our community, rather than to rely on forces outside of this sphere to care take for us, they have come together to illustrate the beauty of our world through the hardships and the joys found in it. This work inspires audiences to become active participants, part of the creation and the outcome. The effects of the evening are further deepened by the dedication of profits to the Jenny Love MS Foundation, a non-for profit working towards a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Layla Love works both as an artist and as a muse, using art as a method of treatment. Dystonia, a physically crippling disease has given her a unique outlook on and passion for life. Since childhood, Love has adopted the camera, both as a subject and an artist, as her greatest source of strength and solace. For her life has an undeniable impetus to be lived to the fullest. Reveling with the masses and the esteemed alike, Love's admirers and subjects range from public figures to the more personal next-door neighbors and friends. Her life embodies a fusion between a photojournalistic approach -an activist dedicated to providing a bank of images for the revolutionaries to draw upon- to a woman who is a force of nature, living as an example to artists and her community at large of one who is unafraid to embrace and to exhibit all that life has to offer.

Accomplished photographer Allison Kramer is known for her photo-essayist approach to photography. The intimacy and multi-layered knowledge that this approach allows, is demonstrated in this exhibit of the most intimate, joyful, and fearful moments of Layla Love's journey, shown in all of its beautiful and brutal power. Kramer, through photographs that span years and highlight the most poignant of moments, in an ever-changing environment of hospitals, homes, lovers, and movements, allows us to not just witness, but to share in this most remarkable of lives. Allison Kramer's art is impossible to witness from the outside; it pulls the audience in, creating an event where the line between subject and artist, between audience and participant, is continually challenged and evolving.

Climbing PoeTree, consisting of poets Alixa and Naima, use spoken word to voice their hearts. They are brilliant examples of what we can create and become, when living up to our greatest purpose. Their work combines with their dedication to the creation and execution of hurricane relief efforts, making them an inspiration to anyone who witnesses the moving message brought forth by this dynamic duo. They live by their motto: Art is our weapon, our medicine, our voice, and our vision. Alixa & Naima will bring their skill, their passion and their dedication to social change, enlivening and inspiring the audience.

The scope of this exhibit reflects the various backgrounds and passions of its participants, though the dedication to brave 'over' exposure is a common thread through all demanding that we all strive towards accountability, unable to deny the challenges that we now face. This is art in its truest form, that which touches us and moves us towards that which we know we are capable of becoming. It is a unique and empowering evening, full of art, inspiration, and community.

This exhibit is a one night only event, showing at the Olympic Mills Commerce Center, 107 SE Washington St. Portland, Or, 97214 and will begin at 6pm.

All proceeds from the show will go towards the Jenny Love MS Foundation. It is a suggested donation of $10 and there will be a silent auction at the event.

Space provided by Working Artists Network, an organization working towards creating an empowering environment for creative professionals, emerging or established, whose work fuses art, business and social contribution. Working Artists Network is an invaluable resource for those looking to live a life based on creation, participation and change. For more information on Working Artists Network, please visit www.workingartistsonline.com

Artists Websites:

Allison Kramer

Layla Love

Climbing PoeTree


For further information, sponsorship opportunities, and all other inquiries: Please contact

Studio 79, Artist Management Services: Studio 79 or Taurmini Fentress at Studio79: taurmini@gmail.com