Baby Tanner, Mom and Grandma, 2010
Shelby Lee Adams Trust
Through helping individuals, we better each other.
Under Construction
Now at age 62, I begin the actual process of finding a permanent home for my life's work. In 2013, we begin exploring that physical process. Arrangements and details of curation have to be agreed upon and final decisions have to be made, but general response has been good. Perhaps the below descriptive statement is premature, but the goal of creating a trust so described is my ideal. The exact scope and comprehensiveness of the trust will be determined in part by the selected home institution of the archive and their interrelatedness. 2013 will hopefully lead us to a permanent location and agreement, with a precise instrumental plan for the trust to follow.
December 26, 2012 ________________________________________
Under Construction
Now at age 62, I begin the actual process of finding a permanent home for my life's work. In 2013, we begin exploring that physical process. Arrangements and details of curation have to be agreed upon and final decisions have to be made, but general response has been good. Perhaps the below descriptive statement is premature, but the goal of creating a trust so described is my ideal. The exact scope and comprehensiveness of the trust will be determined in part by the selected home institution of the archive and their interrelatedness. 2013 will hopefully lead us to a permanent location and agreement, with a precise instrumental plan for the trust to follow.
December 26, 2012 ________________________________________
I wish to announce the creation of the Shelby Lee Adams Trust, which will be established as a mechanism to archive my life's work, keeping photographic works available for study and exhibition; and to communicate with and support the people who are represented within my photographs when funds are available. The SLA Trust will create a timeless agreement for the photographs preservation and longevity and to assure my people as shared beneficiaries and knowledgeable participants bonded to my work's legacy.
Eastern Kentucky today is in a rapid transitional time and is interspersed with many changes occurring to the physical mountains themselves, the traditional culture, and its people. Modern America is present with four lane super highways, colleges, vocational training schools, modern hospitals and all the fast food restaurants one can image. Media cultural misunderstandings and interruptions and segmented pockets of isolation, also continue. The influx of the contemporary drug culture is staggering, some of the local people’s low self-esteem and poor self-worth, continues to hold some back making them vulnerable to new covert alternatives and not necessarily good ones. All within a rural society that is so diverse, religious and culturally rich, with deep family commitments, historically independent, proud, and dignified people. A goal of this trust is to help some of the holler people identify themselves positively, rediscovering, encouraging, and regaining some of their own cultural pride and strengths.
The long-term mission of the trust will emphasize two directions, first the traditional preserving of the photographic work in an accessible educational or museum environment, to keep the work in circulation through innovative exhibitions and publications. Secondly, because of my family cultural roots and the people's long-term committed corporation, both provide me with an in-depth access and unique perspective. This trust will house and manage the complete body of images I have made within all the hollers of Eastern Kentucky, published and unpublished works. Upon investigating other similar institutions, photographer's archives and trust's, for the most part, the subjects rarely receive direct recognition, have any involvement or communications with such organizations, and receive no monetary compensation of any kind, even though some works are Internationally known and continually published. The subjects, often in need, feel segregated against, finding out about their relatives photographic usages through secondary sources years later with often skewed associations. This trust will not over look the importance of continued communications with the subjects or their decedents on multiple levels.
Many people from diverse life and cultural experiences do not understand the motivations, intent or the economics in making this kind of work. An ongoing bridge of communications and shared knowledge between the subjects, their families and the trust is essential. Regardless of ones background, communicating clearly maintains understandings, building and holding respect and dignity for all.
This trust will provide supportive endowments as funds become available to deserving young creative people in this region who are the actual subjects of my photographs, their relatives or descendants, this will not be a traditional academic scholarship.
Many people from diverse life and cultural experiences do not understand the motivations, intent or the economics in making this kind of work. An ongoing bridge of communications and shared knowledge between the subjects, their families and the trust is essential. Regardless of ones background, communicating clearly maintains understandings, building and holding respect and dignity for all.
This trust will provide supportive endowments as funds become available to deserving young creative people in this region who are the actual subjects of my photographs, their relatives or descendants, this will not be a traditional academic scholarship.
The trust can be supported in two ways: by receiving tax-deductible contributions from the public, concerned individuals, patrons of the arts, and by revenues generated from the selected site's sales of print editions and publications from my body of copyrighted photographs.
A museum, university, or non-profit organization, which is yet to be determined, will eventually archive and house all photographic works and related materials. This archival site will advance the work, exercising the highest scholarly standards, Further, the selected site will assume full responsibility for support of the created endowments along with and equally important, supply any publications, books, media and printed matter to go directly to the families or their decedents represented within the work, as I have done throughout my career.
The trust will be open to review other Appalachian creative holler people's applications. Though not a priority, the opportunity [specific geographic area's to be specified] to help advance a creative persons life will be considered. During my life time I will make recommendations to the trust to support projects and future candidates from Eastern Kentucky. I will write a biographic description of the kind of person located and living in Eastern Kentucky that can continue this kind of work with the rural and holler people. I believe there are many field workers [a person who visits and calls upon people in the mountains] in Appalachia within the educational and religious community that would recognize talent and needs and would qualify to take on this role.
This trust hopefully will attract farsighted donors and patrons to help expand the vision, ethics and philosophy of its creator, support the established home site itself, reach and support more families, furthering other developmental concepts and support in general.
The amounts of donations and contributions can be in any specified amount; all funds will be deposited into one trust account. Projects will be decided upon from reviewing the total annual fund amount and assessing known needs. Information will be posted as to how donations may be made online. In the meantime, feel free to contact me via e-mail. Currently, we are in the review and consultation process of finding the work and archive a
The amounts of donations and contributions can be in any specified amount; all funds will be deposited into one trust account. Projects will be decided upon from reviewing the total annual fund amount and assessing known needs. Information will be posted as to how donations may be made online. In the meantime, feel free to contact me via e-mail. Currently, we are in the review and consultation process of finding the work and archive a
It is my intention to apply for tax-exempt status for this trust under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, so that donations to it will be tax deductible. Donations will receive tax-exempt status. We are interviewing currently national sites and umbrella Kentucky non profit organizations that can
Thank You,
Shelby Lee Adams
Contact: sadams18@nycap.rr.com
Give with Care
"I hear people say: Oh if I were rich, I would do great things to help people. But we all can be rich in love and generosity. Moreover, if we give with care, if we find out the exact wants of those who need our help most, we are giving our own loving interest and concern, which is worth more than all the money in the world."
Albert Schweitzer
Give with Care
"I hear people say: Oh if I were rich, I would do great things to help people. But we all can be rich in love and generosity. Moreover, if we give with care, if we find out the exact wants of those who need our help most, we are giving our own loving interest and concern, which is worth more than all the money in the world."
Albert Schweitzer
How to Help Immediately?
I have been working in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky since 1974,
spending 2 to 3 months on average each year, my time commitment varies due to my other work obligations and life. I am well established with some
communities. Below are listed two grass-roots community churches that help the country people. If you are motivated to send care packages or administer help in other ways, contact them directly. Explore ideas.
Updated - Summer 2012.
Joyce and James Boggs
724 Big Fork Rd.
Yeaddis, KY 41777
Ph. 606-279-2061
[Community Church in Leslie Co. KY]
Harold & Phyllis Turner
527 Right Fork - Beehive RD.
Slemp, KY 41763
Ph. 606-675-5331
[Community Church in Perry Co. KY]
SLA
Drilling a well,
Hooterville, 2000
My friend Hort Collins
was getting ill in the year 2000, he could no longer carry his water. He never had running water in his home until he was over 60 years of age. We employed a
well drilling co. to drill
him a well and place a water pump next to his home, before the county water system was piped
into this area. This was my first well drilling project.
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I once heard on an NPR
radio program about a project Robert F. Kennedy discretely funded for years
with a one-man office in rural West Virginia. This local man drove around and
studied modest homes and invited people to come to his office and apply for
help. All he offered was tin roofing materials. But, tin roofing if you think
about it, is the most expensive material to buy for a rural home and yet the
most important and longest lasting material. It gives one a sense of security
to have a good roof over your home, no matter how modest. I understood from
this radio program that this information was not disclosed for many years after
Kennedy’s death. He in fact had helped many, many people in this region through
simple but very effective programs.
In working with people
in Eastern Kentucky when you offer to help put a new roof on their home, people sometimes politely ask for their church house to be repaired first. This is
the kind of project I recommend funding many times and this does a tremendous amount to stabilize and protect someones property. It is best to research and make sure the family owns their own home before repairing.
The supply of good
water and a solid roof over our heads is something so many of us assume - everyone has in America. Basic examples of how to help: Used clothing shipped by UPS or mailed through the
post office can reach this area inexpensively. Reconditioned water pumps, used kitchen stoves, space heaters, microwaves and bedding supplies are always needed. Such items can be purchased locally and delivered by local church groups to individuals and families homes, by church volunteers. When I am in the area, I often help supervise the purchase and delivery of such needed items. The churches above serve as good community scouts, locating needs and providing delivery and distribution services. Home repairs, remodeling and expansions are always needed. To provide selected families with children in school a new computer with local service contracts could help the entire family excel.
S.L.A.
“The whole
possibility of loving affection between human beings depends upon the
recognition and acceptance of an element of irreducible rascality in oneself
and others – through to parade it is just as much hypocrisy as the
advertisement of one’s virtues.”
Alan
Watts
"When I first discovered Shelby Lee Adams through his book, 'Appalachian Portraits,' I was struck by the stark honesty of the photographs but what I was equally struck by was the fact that these images were not from the Depression era as in the startling photos of the late Walker Evans but these were contemporary images of people living right here, right now. Not only is Shelby Lee Adams' work breathtakingly beautiful, honest and soulful but it's equally vital from a sociological perspective in its ability to open the eyes of those who refuse to see the truth."
-- Lucinda Williams
2011
