Austin, TX, Sept. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AUSTIN, TX (September 1, 2022) – A Central Texas couple who create fine-art surreal photographs is collaborating with the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to highlight three different Texas non-profit organizations for a first-ever project of its kind.
The exhibit is called Telling Their Stories and starting Sept. 1, it can be viewed in the airport’s Colony Park Gallery by Gate 10.
Such organizations include Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), the agency providing organ donation and recovery services to individuals and families in Central and South Texas; Austin Prosthetic Center, focused on the restoration of limb function and recovery for healthy lifestyle; and BeFriend EB, dedicated to bettering the lives of individuals with Epidermolysis Bullosa a rare genetic skin disorder in which the skin blisters and detaches from the body with the slightest friction.
“We believe everyone has obstacles they must overcome,” explained Karen Jackson, who owns Two Keys Photography in Bastrop with her husband, Steve. “However, there is an inner strength in all individuals despite these obstacles. We want to take photographs that result in beautiful images of experiences or difficulties showing the strength of an individual to allow the viewer to look deep within oneself and make a connection with their own strengths.”
Their exhibit explores several themes, including the miracles of modern medicine within organ donation and transplantation. There are three photos of transplant recipients, including Austin florist and HBO Max “Full Bloom” contestant Antonio Bond who is a two-time kidney recipient and two TOSA donor families. One photo features a San Antonio donor dad seen giving a liver to his brother as part of a direct donation. In another, a Floresville family is shown gifting a heart blooming with flowers to a former San Angelo resident.
The exhibit also features individuals with various levels of lower extremity single and multiple limb amputations and also showcases individuals with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). There are four main types of EB: Simplex, Junctional, Dystrophic and Kindler that vary in severity and the location of blister formation.
Exhibit viewers will find QR codes located on the front window of the exhibit, by scanning the codes they can learn more about these organizations, donate to help individuals coping with these conditions, or sign up as life-saving organ, eye and tissue donors.
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Texas Organ Sharing Alliance (TOSA), founded in 1975, is one of 57 federally-designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) in the United States. TOSA is committed to a mission of saving lives through the power of organ donation by providing organ donation and recovery services to Central and South Texans wishing to donate, and to those waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.
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