The art of transformation
The Art of Transformation was developed in close cooperation with the advisory board of PWC, who used the life of Hannes Schmid as their role model for transformation. All his Transformation speeches convey courage and show what can be achieved with passion, perseverance and willingness to change. It inspires listeners to reflect on themselves and find the motivation for their own transformation.
Hannes Schmid passionately reports how he managed to transform himself as an artist and to reinvent himself constantly over the years. He leads his audience into an inspiring journey through his life and his works, from the rockstars in the 70s and 80s, to that of the Marlboro Man in the 90s, from fashion photography to the “momentous” of an interactive art installation. This documents the developmental process of a great artist and his need for transformation. A fascinating presentation that usually ends with some moving stories about the Smiling Gecko project. Hannes Schmid’s biggest art project so far, lasting already for more than 10 years now.
HUMAN CAPITAL: SMILING GECKO
In the lecture Human Capital, The Smiling Gecko Project, Hannes Schmid takes the audience to the amazing Smiling Gecko Campus north of Phnom Penh, one which his NGO offers education, training and regular income in numerous sectors such as education, agriculture, tourism and crafts for several thousands of Cambodians.
Listeners will learn about the Smiling Gecko Principle which, unlike most traditional NGOs, has a holistic approach and a core belief that only education and investments in human capital lead to a sustainable improvement of the living conditions in a society.
As a social entrepreneur Hannes Schmid has the vision to create the exemplary model of a functioning, rural community, which works autonomously after a start-up period. The lecture offers courage and shows what could be accomplished with heartfelt emotions and perseverance in a short time.
PHOTOGRAPHY AS A TOOL
In this powerful and emotionally charged workshop, renowned photo-artist Hannes Schmid shares his unique philosophy of photography, a practice that goes far beyond taking pictures to truly living the subjects he captures.
Whether it is his iconic, highly orchestrated shots of the Marlboro cowboys, his months-long pursuit of permission to photograph a ritual opera performance for Taoist gods, or his life on Cambodia’s rubbish dumps, where he wanted to document the indescribable poverty for the world: Hannes Schmid doesn’t take photographs, he lives his subjects.
In the workshop, participants will gain a deep insight into this very demanding form of photography and will certainly be able to take their own photos with completely different eyes.