Local photographer gets Vancouverites to ‘jump for joy’

Watch: Project founder Eyoälha Baker talks about “Jump for Joy”

“People open up, act silly and we create art.”

That is how a local photographer describes her project to get people to jump for joy.

Eyoälha Baker says just two years ago, she was not happy with where her life was going.

She was not enjoying her work and went through a difficult break-up.

So she decided to make a change.

She sold her business, car and most of her belongings to set out on a journey of self-discovery with a camera in her hands.

“While I was starting over from having a really difficult year, I just wanted to take that new perspective on life and live from a passionate place, trying to follow my dream.”

While reconsidering her life, she wrote down a list of things that make her happy and that became the basis for her “Jump for Joy” project.

She say she likes the idea of capturing people’s emotions when they are jumping because of how liberating the experience is.

“When you jump as a response in life, it is when you are celebrating or excited or happy,” she says. “The energy that you get is uplifting. You get an adrenaline rush from it. You are letting go off everyday life, and taking the focus off having to pay the bills…just remembering what it feels like to feel light, free and playful.”

Her goal is to take this project around the world, “I have started. I have been to a few places, but raising the funds takes a bit of time,” says Baker.

She has now partnered with the owner of a building in Vancouver’s Chinatown, who is offering her a 9000-square-foot wall to create a mural with a collage of enlarged jumping photos.

The partnership is part of the Murality project by Amalia Liapis, an initiative to add colour and vitality to Downtown Eastside.

So the two women started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $5,000 to cover the costs of completing the mural.

The goal is to raise $5,000. So far, over $1,300 have been raised.

Baker says she hopes her project will help transform an otherwise dreary alleyway into an art space for the public to enjoy.