“The camera serves as one of the most compelling tools for highlighting the everyday realities of Gazans,” the creators of Permit to See, a new art-led charity initiative launching today, tell MILLE. Rooted in both fashion and fine art, the project brings together disposable cameras, undeveloped film, and one powerful question: what happens when you give people the power to tell their own story?
Conceived by two freelance creatives—Jared Witherspoon and Chanel Ghazi Alorsan (who is Palestinian-American)—the project seeks to merge their passions for photography and social justice into a format that is both intimate and urgent. As the war on Gaza continues, with at least 50,000 Palestinians killed, Permit to See is a quiet act of resistance—artful, intentional, and deeply human.
The initiative invites six artists, from fashion editors to photographers, to document their realities using a disposable camera. The twist? None of the images will be seen until the cameras are won in an online raffle from May 9–16. The winner of each camera will decide whether to develop and share the photos, or to keep them private.
This, the founders explain, is a way of reclaiming both visibility and ownership in the context of Palestine. “In Gaza and the West Bank, people are constantly being documented by Israeli drones, surveillance, and checkpoints—but rarely do they get to control that documentation or the narrative around it. This project reclaims that,” they tell MILLE. The title itself is a double entendre—Permit to See evokes both the idea of allowing oneself to witness, and the grim reality that in places like Gaza, even the act of seeing often requires permission.
The timing couldn’t be more significant. Gaza has been under blockade since 2007, a situation that intensified dramatically in October 2023 when the Israeli government launched a full-scale military assault, devastating neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and entire communities. More than a humanitarian crisis, Gaza today is a symbol of global complicity, media erasure, and the exhaustion of empathy. In the words of the founders, “The conflict is also one of the most censored crises in the world. Western media usually shows what’s going on through a detached, dehumanized perspective.”
That’s where the artists come in.
Among the contributors are model Lotta Lavanti, fashion editor Bobbi Menuez, and celebrated artists like Polina Osipova, among others. They weren’t given a theme or brief—just a camera and a call to create. “Contributors were simply asked to capture anything that resonated with them: personal moments, reflections, their surroundings, or even more experimental concepts,” the team notes. The result is a patchwork of unseen realities, suspended in time until a buyer chooses whether or not the world gets to see them.
But not all contributors had access to disposable film. Gaza-based photojournalist Majdi Fathi—known for his raw and heartbreaking work documenting the daily horrors in his hometown—was included in the project with digital images as prints for sale instead. “It’s nearly impossible to get anything into Gaza right now—even something as simple as a disposable camera,” the founders explain. “People are not just cut off from food and water, but also from the tools to express themselves.”
Despite unimaginable loss—including the death of 27 of his family members—Fathi continued to shoot. His images form the emotional spine of Permit to See. “His images are different from the analog ones in the project since they also feel like a grounding force. They’re raw, urgent, and immediate in a way that balances out the more reflective, undemanding process of film. Together, the digital and analog components create a fuller picture—one that captures both the day-to-day resilience and the deeper emotional landscape of what people are living through.”
This duality—urgency and reflection, presence and absence—is at the core of the project’s power. Who gets to see? Who gets to document? Who gets to remember?
The act of winning a camera and choosing whether or not to develop the images also brings these questions into sharp focus. “Letting the buyer choose whether to reveal or hide the images puts the power in their hands—it’s all about agency,” the founders say. “This approach challenges the governmental control of media in conflict zones, where narratives are often shaped by those in power or by state interests. It’s a way of asking: if you’re in charge of the narrative—even in small, personal ways—what does that say about conflict and survival?”
The cameras themselves—decorated by the artists, turned into art objects in their own right—are visual extensions of that philosophy. The campaign’s aesthetic direction comes courtesy of Bráulio Amado, the graphic designer known for his work with Frank Ocean and Charli XCX, who created the campaign flyer.
All proceeds will be donated to several nonprofit organizations providing humanitarian aid, education, and healthcare to children impacted by the crisis in Gaza. But beyond raising money, Permit to See aims to interrogate how care and community function in a moment when global attention spans are dangerously short. “In the face of so many obstacles—censorship, burnout, and this overwhelming sense of fatigue—we’ve had to constantly adapt. It’s like: how do you keep people engaged when the world feels so heavy all the time?”
This tension between aestheticization and activism is one the founders don’t shy away from. “Even something like the Met Gala—people forget it’s technically a charity event. It raises concerns surrounding the idea of resorting to beautifying or masking fundraising efforts for people to care.”
And yet, with Permit to See, the beauty is inseparable from the intention. “If it looks good, it’s because we want it to feel good to care. That’s what community does. It adapts. It makes a way.”
Though Permit to See may be a one-off activation, it’s part of a growing movement spearheaded by the founders’ collective, Better Entry—a platform designed to connect artists and creatives who want to build something more intentional. “So, while this project may be a singular moment, there will be more events and initiatives that continue to bring people together and keep supporting causes that matter.”
