The Rain Parade: A Photographic Journey Across Ghana

The Rain Parade tells the story of photographer, Julia Blaukopf when, in 2006, she traveled to Ghana to work with Women in Progress, an organization that empowers women through a sustainable business of clothing production called Global Mamas. Woven into The Rain Parade are Blaukopf's experiences of the everyday, of mothers, artisans, leaders, workers, and women who use imagination to achieve prosperity for their families and their country. During this time she traveled throughout the country visiting the bead-making region, mountain villages, a remote fishing village, the big city of Accra, and the homes of Ghanaian artisans and professionals. Blaukopf scribed her experiences into a journal, detailing the moments of each day. These written impressions interact with Blaukopf's photographs to create her story - a time that becomes a dream.

Julia Blaukopf is a Philadelphia-based photographer and social documentarian. She has worked as a creative partner with organizations and businesses in Germany, Copenhagen, Kenya, Ghana, Lithuania and throughout the US. In 2005, Julia worked with a community-run reforestation project in Kenya. A year later she traveled back to Africa to photograph for the Ghanaian organization Women in Progress. Julia has also traveled extensively in the United States, focusing her lens on women artisans and their work in the creative sector. Julia worked with Women in Progress as a photographer and a liaison to help promote the women's craft in the U.S. Her goal is to create artistic work that promotes social and political efforts, to create images that embody the mission of Women in Progress, and to help raise awareness for the women artisans' crafting businesses through batiking, sewing, and bead making.