The Drawing Hope Project
“A concept-driven visual storytelling project that translates drawings by children living with life-threatening illness into fully realized photographic worlds.”
The short version
Thirty-second read- The mandate
- A founder-led initiative translating drawings by children living with life-threatening illness into fully realized photographic worlds.
- The insight
- Treat each drawing as a finished concept rather than inspiration. Honouring the child's vision, instead of reinterpreting it, is what made the images travel.
- My role + craft
- Led concept development and art direction on every piece, directed the shoots, sourced environments and props, and built the layered composites - balancing realism with imagination so each frame stayed believable and true to the child.
- The result
- International press including The Today Show, ABC World News, MTV News and Global National, and a storytelling model now used by hospitals and foundations for family engagement.
The Drawing Hope Project is a self-funded charitable storytelling initiative I founded and led. Children living with life-threatening illness drew what they wished for, and I turned those drawings into fully realized photographic worlds. Over five years the project produced 62 artworks with families and hospital partners, including a three-day shoot on-site at SickKids, with no agency, no client and no budget behind it. Every image had to honour the child's own vision rather than reinterpret it, and every family relationship had to be handled with more care than any campaign.
- 01Treated each drawing as a fully realized concept, not just inspiration
- 02Led end-to-end concept development and art direction on every piece
- 03Directed shoots, sourced environments and props, and built layered Photoshop composites
- 04Balanced realism with imagination so the imagery remained believable and true to the child
- 62 children's drawings transformed into finished photographic artworks under the idea 'Anything Is Possible'
- International press coverage including The Today Show, ABC World News, MTV News and Global National, filmed on-site at SickKids over three days
- Partnerships built with hospitals, foundations, families and consumer brands from a self-funded start
- A storytelling model hospitals and foundations have since used for family engagement, and the work that opened doors across my nonprofit and healthcare career
Selected imagery
Click to enlarge · 17 pieces
Concept, art direction & execution - Shawn Van Daele for Founder-led initiative · Global press, Ongoing.