PAIN was founded by artist Nan Goldin in late 2017. Our group of artists, activists, and people living with addiction addresses the overdose crisis by targeting the pharmaceutical companies that have profited off the addictions and deaths of over half a million Americans. We are not anti-opioid—we are anti-Big Pharma.
Our initial focus was on the toxic philanthropy of the billionaire Sackler family, who ignited the opioid overdose epidemic with their blockbuster drug, OxyContin. We’ve exposed the institutions that have complicity accepted their donations for years, and through direct action, we’ve successfully pushed many museums and universities to refuse Sackler funding and cut ties with the family.
While we continue to target the Sacklers, PAIN’s scope has expanded to fight the stigma that surrounds drug use and advocate for models of treatment grounded in harm reduction. We continue to fight against Big Pharma and the War on Drugs while organizing to pass legislation that provides life-saving treatment for people who use drugs.
Naloxone, the life-saving medication that reverses overdose, must be available at no-cost in every home, in every prison and carried by every first responder. Public dispensers of Naloxone must be installed on every corner in America.
Overdose Prevention Centers, needle exchange, and drug checking services provide lifesaving medical resources and access to treatment for those who are ready. Two in New York City saved nearly 700 lives in a single year—we need them across the country!
All barriers to prescribe MAT, like methadone and buprenorphine, must be removed. MAT must be made affordable to all people with Opioid Use Disorder in and out of prison.
Evidence-based treatment is a vital step toward repairing harm. Government funding for the overdose crisis must no longer be diverted into law enforcement or used to fund abstinence-based treatment models.
PAIN continues its work by advocating for harm reduction, drug decriminalization, and an end to the racist War on Drugs. Funds raised will support efforts to destigmatize drug use while highlighting compassionate, voluntary, evidence-based models
for drug policy, healthcare, and treatment.
The Sackler family is an American family who founded and owned the pharmaceutical companies Purdue Pharma and Mundipharma. Purdue Pharma, and some members of the family, have faced lawsuits regarding overprescription of addictive pharmaceutical drugs, including OxyContin.
Lumio, previously called Foenix, was a social media analytics company that helped brands like Audi, David Jones and Red Balloon source legitimate influencers for social media campaigns.
“We were essentially the Instagram police and called out fake influencers left, right and centre. It was fun and all, but there is only so many bikini chicks you can look at on Instagram before you start losing your mind.”
Dan, Co-founder and CEO of Lumio
“After this, we both took up golf on during the week and started eating fancy dinners at the local Country Club... Ha. This is not what happened at all. We suck at golf and love eating Guzman Y Gomez.”
Adam, Co-founder of Lumio
Whilst in Germany, Dan worked with with brands such as Daniel Wellington and BMW - Ja!
Adam worked with clients like Vodafone, TAFE NSW, Adobe and also won the 'Good Design Australia' award for his work on the Seatfrog website.
The name "Relume" is born.
relume
[ri-loom]
To relight or rekindle (a light, flame, etc.)
To do this they would have to build a company that would be profitable in its first year. Not the next Uber of *insert clever idea*.
“Relume was an opportunity for us to build a profitable business, not a startup that bleeds cash, whilst doing what we love to do. It also allows us to learn about all types of businesses and the problems they deal with. These are all opportunities that we could potentially solve for in the future. For now, our goal is simple, we want to build a kickass business which means we really want our customers and the Webflow community to succeed too.”
Dan, Co-founder of Relume
You've heard our story, it's now time for the world to hear yours.
