Integrate Health is pleased to partner with ART WORKS Projects to present the Women of Togo exhibit by photographer Zoe Rain. ART WORKS Projects provides visual advocacy tools which produce action on human rights crises at the grassroots, media, and policy levels.
Togo, a country of eight million people, has been forgotten by much of the world. UNICEF named Togo the 15th Most Dangerous Place to be born in the world in 2018. Nearly one in ten children will not live to see his or her fifth birthday—a rate fifteen times higher than that of developed countries. The five major killers of children in Togo—malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, HIV, and malnutrition—are all easily treatable conditions.
In February 2018, photographer Zoe Rain joined Integrate Health/Santé Intégrée, a community-led international health organization working to create a world where everyone, everywhere has access to high-quality healthcare in Togo, West Africa. Rain toured four clinics in the rural communities of Djamdè, Kpindi, Sarakawa, and Adabewere where, historically, a lack of resources, including no running water or electricity costs lives. The artist was on hand to document the impact that clinic renovations had to these distinct, isolated communities.
In Women of Togo, Rain uses a skill set and aesthetic cultivated capturing celebrity portraits—a look that we have come to associate with red carpets and award shows—to document the integrity, autonomy, self-reliance, and pride of Togolese women. For many Togolese, the frustration of having no opportunities, options, or resources can leave people feeling that they have no control. Integrate Health works to empower families to regain ownership over their health, something Rain beautifully illustrates through her photography.
To learn how to support Women of Togo as it is exhibited in Chicago and around the world, please contact Annalise Flynn-Taylor at ataylor@artworksprojects.org. 
UPCOMING EVENTS
Exhibition opening of Women of Togo
AWP Studio Gallery | 625 N. Kingsbury Street
October 25, 2018
Photographer Zoe Rain will be in attendance to speak about her work.
Zoe Rain is a freelance photographer from Seattle who is currently based in Chicago. With a deft eye and a wealth of composure earned from years working with music icons – first, at the age of 20, with hip-hop duo, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and later with artists like Chance The Rapper, Mary Lambert and Ed Sheeran – Rain has stood on the edge of musical history on many occasions. While Rain has honed her craft during late nights and in crowded stadiums across the world, she also exhibits an intimate touch, offering her quintessential sharp, clean-edged sensibility to magazines like Rolling Stone, editorial shoots for modeling portfolios, and honest photojournalism.
She has contributed to: The Grammys, Rolling Stone, Redbull, The New York Times, Anonymous Content, NIKE, Alaska Airlines, Nice Kicks, City Arts, Seahawks, Billboard Magazine, Redbull, Capitol Records, XXL, STATUS Magazine, Seattle Met Magazine, The Source Magazine, Evening Magazine, SSG Music, Seattle E Bikes, and Columns Magazine.