52LTD Blog

52ltd had a great opportunity to collaborate with Nike(RED) and Cascade Aids Project on an art piece for a great cause. Since 1990, the Cascade AIDs Project (CAP) has organized an annual art auction aimed at raising money to further HIV/AIDs education and to provide vital support services to those infected or affected by the disease. This year’s auction on April 30th at Portland’s Memorial Coliseum was the organization’s largest ever with over 300 unique pieces of art and an attendance of  over 2,000. A long-time supporter of CAP and their mission, Nike shares a companywide commitment to promote public awareness and community participation in the ongoing fight against HIV / AIDs. In addition to sponsoring this year’s auction, Nike’s own Tim Hershey took on the role of Honorary Chair. Wanting to contribute a piece of art themselves, Nike’s 300 person Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Friends (LGBT&F) employee network, partnered with 52ltd to design a larger-than-life art installation that was displayed at the event.

As a company with deep ties in Portland’s vibrant creative community, 52ltd commissioned local designer and sustainability advocate, Owen William Fritts, to lead the creation of the art installation. Inspired by nature and the power of collaboration, Fritts takes an organic approach to design, using chanced-upon materials to form woven structures. The sculpture created for CAP and nike(RED) is known as the STORYpod.

With help from the greater community, volunteers of all ages participated in the making of the STORYpod. Branches were harvested, weaving sessions were held, and finally the pods traveled around Portland for ‘lace up’ events. Everyone was invited to write a personal message of encouragement, hope, or memorial to share how HIV/AIDS has impacted their life, and attach it to the pods with nike(RED) laces. The pods were then gathered for the final installation at Memorial Coliseum. The end result is a living, growing, organic 3D -“AIDs quilt” like no other.

52ltd would like to thank everyone that played a part in bringing this project to life: