A Weather Walked In
2012-present
Project manager + diverse hat-wearer
“Haughey’s mesmerizing images of men battling the hardships and ennui of war are seeing the light of day for the first time.”
Lost + found Vietnam War photo collection
In 2012, I met Charlie Haughey, a retired carpenter working on wooden sculptures at ADX. He revealed to me his collection of nearly 3,000 film photographs from the Vietnam War, never before released to the public. I immediately recognized the historical and artistic importance of the image collection. and dedicated myself to publishing his work.
I've filled many roles in this project, with the main role being the project manager for the publication of his work. Presently, I'm continuing to produce a photographic gallery showing of his work, as well as lectures and interviews with Charlie.
Details of my role + work
Beginning in 2012 and again in 2015, I scanned and cataloged all 3,000 images from the collection.
In early 2013, I assembled and lead a team of 10 creative people--including designers, editors, film photo preservationists, and interns--in the process of producing the first gallery showing of Charlie Haughey's work. The gallery showing in April 2013 at ADX attracted nearly 700 visitors on the opening night and 1,000 visitors over the course of the month. The showing was covered by press like the Boston Globe, CBS Evening News, The Huffington Post, Der Spiegel, and the BBC.
Immediately following the gallery showing, I embarked on a 2 year process of producing a fine art book of Charlie's work. I worked with a print book designer and a digital book designer to create a fine art print book of Charlie's work, as well as a digital iOS companion book that showcases images along with Charlie's verbal storytelling.
While producing the book of photographs, I lead the curation of images for the book, and I headed up the design details and layout of the book. I planned and managed a successful crowdfunding campaign with Crowdsupply, and raised nearly $23,000 for the production of the books. The Crowdfunding campaign received press coverage, including a piece from The Atlantic. I managed a $26,000 budget for the production of the books, as well as a team of 16 people to produce the assets for the books. I worked with my book designers to produce proofs and make revisions to the design and layout, I compiled assets for the final version, and I personally oversaw quality of the production of the book by doing press checks while it printed.
In addition to my role as project manager, I have filled many other necessary roles including:
- Copywriting and editing for the book and press kits
- Image editing and post processing
- Producing crowdfunding campaign assets
- Filming and editing crowdfunding campaign videos
- Producing archival quality fine art prints of Charlie's work, selling prints, and fulfilling print orders
- PR and press outreach, organizing press and interviews, promoting the project across traditional press and social media
- Working with web designers to produce the project's website
- Producing social media content and managing social media accounts
- Managing an email campaign with 700 subscribers and a average 42.1% open rate, nearly double the 22.4% open rate industry standard for email campaigns (statistic via Mailchimp)
more at chieu-hoi.com and awwi.vn
Spreads
iOS book demo
