the universal empire: ayiti toma

Forest of Hope is a sport center in the outskirts of Bogotá designed by Equipo de Mazzanti where the community can practice several sports and take part of different recreational and academic activities that lead to a cooperative community. This project was made possible thanks to the foundation “Pies Descalzos” founded by the well known singer Shakira and the Spanish ONG “Ayuda en Acción”. Original photo by Alejandra Loreto.

Alice Smeets: The Guetto Tarot

Welcome to the Ghetto Tarot, a project from award-winning documentary photographer Alice Smeets and a group of Haitian artists known as Atis Rezistans. The idea was to take the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck of 78 cards and create a photographic version of each card using settings and objects in the vibrant ghetto of Haiti.

As Smeets says, “The spirit of the Ghetto Tarot project is the inspiration to turn negative into positive while playing. The group of artists ‘Atiz Rezistans’ use trash to create art with their own visions that are a reflection of the beauty they see hidden within the waste. They are claiming the word ‘Ghetto,’ thus freeing themselves of its depreciating undertone and turning it into something beautiful.”