The brainchild of photographer Carla Ten Eyck, Survivor Stories is a project in development revolving around inspiring, diverse musical and photographic portraits of courageous people who have endured cancer, bereavement and other life-shaking adversity.
Ten Eyck conceived Survivor Stories early in 2012 to illuminate the courage of two family members battling cancer. Our own vulnerability often leads us to recoil in the face of serious illness, but what if people enduring these challenges were celebrated, fostering dialogue and unity? Her photographic track record of finding beauty within the seemingly mundane made her an ideal artist to take on this task, and at this point she joined forces with composer Noah Baerman.
As the conception grew, they saw that the notion of “survivor” had different connotations for different people, ranging from illness and disability to bereavement, sexual violence, war and numerous other traumatic circumstances. The vastness of this concept increased the complex challenge of doing justice to these survivors’ perseverance and inner strength so as to properly celebrate them while inspiring and encouraging others.