The Process
The Reveal Mission is a unique and individual process for each participant. The goal of the mission is to help individuals process their own journeys and there is no set way to do this. If there is a general pattern it looks something like this:
Interview
Most people want to sit down and and talk face-to-face with someone about The Reveal Mission. These initial interviews can include spouses or a friend, but some choose to connect individually. We are happy to meet in a public space, come to someone’s home, or meet in our gallery/studio. Our initial goal is to connect in a safe environment where questions can be freely asked and answered.
Space & Time
We ask people to process what they learn about The Reveal Mission and determine if it could be beneficial for them now or in the future. Some may know immediately they want to move forward, some may be pushed by a treatment or surgery deadline, and others may need additional time to figure out what their involvement will be. We don’t rush anyone.
Second Interview
If pictures or an article will be involved we may get together again to let the individual tell us their story. We ask if we can digitally record the interviews so that we can focus on listening and not on note taking. We actively listen for themes in an individual's story that could give us inspiration on how to share their story in a portrait. The individual may have ideas of their own such as the desired setting for their portrait, who (if anyone) they may want in the portrait with them, what they will or will not reveal, etc. Some people ask for photos to be taken that will be kept private for their own use and have us take other images that they may opt to share publicly.
Photo Shoot
When the individual is ready we will schedule a photo shoot at the agreed upon location. The individual may prefer to have this in a private setting or they may choose to bring people with them.
Review
Once the photos have been post-processed they will be loaded on a private folder in Dropbox for the individual to review. The individual can decide whether or not to share this folder with anyone else. The individual retains the rights to choose which images, if any, will be used for any public art shows or published articles. Typically The Reveal Mission does not publish portraits without an attached, written story. Again the individual is involved in the review process deciding what can be shared from their journey.
Participation
There is no requirement for an individual to make their story and/or portraits public. The goal of The Reveal Mission art shows is to help give a platform to those who would benefit by openly sharing about their journey. There is also no requirement for a person to have photos taken. Some individuals have benefited merely by participating in a sit down interview and having someone actively listen to their story. The individual can determine how much they want to be involved and how public to be with their stories.