Great news on our project! The Art and Wellness Project was a unique opportunity for students in Pujehun to learn photography, document their lives, and share their work with the community. We initiated the project by visiting schools in the area and informing students that they could sign up for photography classes at the Youth Center (a new organization implemented by the same initiative which planned the Art and Wellness Project).
Classes were designed to teach basic photographic skills, including shutter speed, aperture, focus, subject composition, and light, and students ranged from age 12 to age 23. Part of every class was spent discussing a specific skill, part, in discussing work from the previous week, part in discussing community change and activism through art, and the last part was spent in the community shooting the next roll. Students worked in pairs, sharing a camera and a roll of film, to foster team-work and development.
On the weekends, I traveled to the nearest city (approx. 3 hours away) to develop the film. The students' work was displayed on the walls of the Youth Center for the grand opening of the center, and they were able to speak at the celebration about the meaning and purposes of their work. This allowed the community to engage with the youth about their perceptions of Pujehun, and actively vocalize concerns for change.
This project simply would not have happened without dosomething.org. These funds have touched so many lives in a very special and unique way. This was about much more than taking photographs; it enabled students to critically analyze the world around them, and learn how to convey their messages in a compelling way.
This project has allowed students, organization members, and community members to make meaningful connections. Students would go out into the field to capture images of their neighbors and friends, and actually give the gift of a photograph to them (if they so desired). There is an amazing bond that comes out of such an interaction- people taking a sincere interest in each others lives, and making an effort to reach out.
The Plum Grant is what allowed all of this to happen!