How The “IMatter” Project Impact Communities

The “IMatter” Project helps transform the identity of communities by honoring the beauty and promise of its people of every race, age, sexual orientation, gender, and socioeconomic status. The public media campaign celebrates the sanctity and self-worth of diverse community members while instilling a sense of communal pride and promise.

The "IMatter" Project reflects the vitality and strength of communities through the beauty and promise of its people in images and words. Compelling large-scale photographic portraits along with subjects’ “IMatter” statements entice and empower community members to engage in conversations about the challenges they face individually and collectively.
Irresistible faces and words broadcast bold messages of positivity and pride that drive community engagement through larger-than-life banners, billboards, audio recordings, social media dialogue, interactive exhibits, and radio broadcasts. For example, Radio Kingston, in Kingston, New York currently invites “IMatter” participants onto their Let’s Talk, Kingston program, a safe, bold space where such conversations are shared with the community.

The project encourages people to curb assumptions and prejudices, and invites them to “meet” community members beyond their circumstances. The aesthetic uplift of the campaign inspires people to imagine and build a healthy community while promoting compassion, belonging and dignity. Reflecting on her 20-foot-high banner, Elaine, an “IMatter” Project participant shared, “It reminds me why I keep going, why I keep trying.”

The “IMatter” Project is a thought-inspiring, heart-opening “poke” of reconsideration that encourages community members to initiate constructive dialogue about vital issues, on their terms. Participants benefit by being given a face and a voice in their community, while the general public benefits from an overall sense of optimism and pride for their town or city.