Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samantha Trionfo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Samantha , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

The Empty Hourglass Project is a safe space for anyone of any age whose life has been touched by trauma, mental illness, suicide, addiction, and grief (which is most likely every person who walks this planet) to share their stories and experiences through creative expression and find healing through the power of art.

Mental illness is something I’ve struggled with my entire life. The same goes for many friends and family members, But it was after a particularly difficult loss that the desire to create and just get what was inside of me, out, became all I could think about. Photographer Josh Triggs and I had never met or worked together before, but we met up to do this “test run” of a conceptual and surreal photo shoot highlighting my struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts, and it came out so much more powerful than one could have imagined it to be.

Since it was a success, I was more excited than ever to collaborate with other artists and hear other people’s stories. It was intended to only be a book retelling true stories through conceptual photography, but The Empty Hourglass Project just blossomed and has taken on a life of its own.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

There are many, many things to be proud of, but I’m mostly proud of the teamwork. The efforts and commitment of every person involved and how far we’ve taken it (together), ranging from our first published book to our immersive exhibits.

First and foremost, the core concept crew (aka: The Nogginators). Tim Brosius, Rebecca Ellis, and Andrew Key. We’ve probably logged thousands of hours of brainstorming sessions for each story/photo shoot. Extra shout out to Tim who has gone above and beyond with photo edits, video FX, cinematography, etc. for crowding funding campaign videos, our immersive exhibits, and so on. They’ve been there every step of the way, and it couldn’t have been done without them.

As I said before, EHP started off as a book, which was finally published in December of 2023. Our book, 50 Lives/50 Truths: Reimagined Through Art – Volume 1, is a 10×12, 150 page art book and memoir that retells true stories of trauma, loss, and more through conceptual photography.

We were also incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to turn those stories into immersive exhibits as interactive/walk-through sets at the Community College of Baltimore County on their Essex and Catonsville campuses from Fall of 2022 – Fall of 2023. Visitors were encouraged to see each story through each author’s eyes, and even share their own stories at our creation stations and healing tree. Last year was truly incredible because we were able to collaborate with local art therapists, musicians, organizations, and educators on various mental health and art events connected to our exhibit, and continue the important talk on mental health (many thanks to Nicole Buckingham Kern and Anne Lefter for helping us bring the exhibits and events to fruition!).

And of course, much gratitude to those who shared their most vulnerable moments and pieces of themselves with us. None of this would exist without them, and we appreciate their trust in what we do.

To learn more about our exhibits and to check out our book or get your own copy, visit us at:

www.emptyhourglassproject.com/shop
www,emptyhourglassproject.com/events

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

This is something I’m still learning about every day, but from what experience has taught me, acknowledge the efforts and wins of those around you. Even if something doesn’t pan out the way you all thought it would, people like to be acknowledged for their contributions, for their dedication, and for their creativity. It’s hard to go far without a team of people who support and believe in the mission of what you’re all doing, so always show gratitude. Know when to apologize, be open to ideas, and remember that we’re complex creatures who ebb and flow.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Our book (50 Lives/50 Truths: Reimagined Through Art – Volume 1) is a perfect example. It’s been 4.5 years of photo shoots, reschedules, a whole pandemic, edits and more edits, personal events (of everyone involved) that caused everything else to take a back seat and so on before we were finally able to release our book. To be honest, I think we were all second guessing if the day of completion would ever be a real thing, haha.

I think the phrase (this isn’t verbatim) that “if you really want something, you find a way to make it happen” is extraordinarily true. Even if it takes what feels like a century to get it done, if it’s something that really matters to you; something that you truly want, eventually it will exist in your life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.emptyhourglassproject.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/theemptyhourglassproject
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@theemptyhourglassproject

Image Credits
Tim Brosius Scott Church James Phelps Kiati Plooksawasdi