Brighton Photo Biennial The British sea-side resort town of Brighton is host to a new-ish photo event that looks at photography in all its forms. Through it’s rather bare bones site, BPB’s manages to convey some of the energy and excitement of exploring the possibilities of current photography, particularly in the Biennal’s Education Projects. Well documented on the site, BPB Education is a series of projects led by artists and photographers that aim to draw a wider audience into the practice of photography as self-expression. Supported by community groups, many of these projects take place in local schools. Brighton Photo Biennal’s stated aim is reach the widest possible audience, and they are wise in the ways they create that audience from the grassroots up.  

Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Art Despite its slightly esoteric name, Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Art (CEPA) is really a well established non-profit that acts as a community resource for photographic creation, education, and presentation in Buffalo, NY. Through a wide variety of programs and initiatives, CEPA manages to explore photography from many angles. One of these is the Center’s Youth Education Program, CEPA Gallery’s Youth Education Program that offers students from Buffalo area schools and communities “projects that use photography and the digital arts to enhance their overall academic and life experience.” The Center also hosts photo-centric after-school programs as well as a photo summer camp for kids.  

Charism, Focus on Photography Charism, a Fargo, North Dakota non-profit, neighborhood-based family resource center, has designed Focus on Photography to teach kids how to document and report on their experiences. Under the direction of a professional photographer, youth from Fargo’s Stonebridge area learn basic photography skills as well as digital editing techniques to perfect their work. It all culminates in an exhibition, where the results of kids who have learned to look at their experience in a different way is on view for the whole community.  

City Hearts Photography The City Hearts Photography program allows children growing up in Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row area the chance to explore a new form of creative expression, one which, as the website says, “combines art with the world in which they live. Students learn to shoot with cameras, not guns.” Using these skills, they explore different forms of photography: still life, portrait, landscape and photojournalism. Founded by former L.A.’s Public Defenders, Sherry and Bob Jason, City Hearts offers photography and performing programs for free to kids who are at risk, or who have already been through the judicial system. The website lists results for this 20 year old project, and they show that art can radically change a life. 

Critical Exposure, Baltimore Critical Exposure is a response to the drastic disparities that exist among public schools, using photography to give students the tools advocate effectively for better conditions and equality in their public schools. Here photography empowers students to not only document problems such as crumbling infrastructures, failed education policies, and racial division, but also to portray the work of good teachers and mentors. The project helps young people to develop skills as documentary photographers, giving them the ability to document them in order to help themselves. Galleries of student photos on the site showcase the work of a new generation of engaged and committed photographers.  

Exposure Initiative, Boston Exposure Initiative is an unusual example of students filling the gaps in photo education and mentorship for other students. Students at Boston University have founded an organization dedicated to introducing middle school and high school students to photography. They have targeted schools in the Boston area where arts programs are under-funded and under-staffed, places where mentors have a chance to teach and to form bonds with the students. Exposure volunteers do this by leading weekly photo workshops at selected urban schools, showing students the basics of photography and opening the door to new ways of self-expression. The site includes a small gallery of recent student work.  

Exposure, The Lightroom Through its “Exposure” program, the Philadelphia‘s photographic arts cooperative, the Lightroom, offers selected students from the city’s public schools a creative outlet through photography. Lightroom sponsors traditional and digital photography and processing classes in its own darkroom facility and student’s work is exhibited in cultural venues around the city.  

SF Camerawork - First Exposures First Exposures: Youth Opportunities Through Photography develops academic AND life skills by combining the benefits of mentoring relationships with art education. Volunteer mentors are professional photographers and students are creative young people, aged 11-18. Student backgrounds may include homelessness, transitional living, foster-care or low-income living situations. The students and mentors work together in one-to-one partnerships in a group setting. First Exposures fosters supportive intergenerational relationships in a stimulating environment of active learning. 

Focus on Youth, Portland Focus on Youth is designed to give Portland (Oregon)’s at-risk population a new way of seeing. Since it’s founding in 2004, FOY has attracted over 100 homeless youth, refugees, school dropouts, teen parents and recovering addicts to join the classes and learn photography from volunteer mentors. In a short time, this non-profit has managed to set up a program of workshops and one-on-one mentorship. Working from a donated studio, gallery and darkroom and using donated equipment, volunteer professional photographers help teens form the skills and abilities in photography that will serve them in many different aspects of their lives. Photography becomes a way for FOY’s participants to examine their relationships, their surroundings and shape of their lives. Their work is shared with a wider community through a gallery on the website and exhibitions all over Portland.  

Foto Mission Based in Florida’s South Beach, Foto Mission’s stated cause is promoting photography for social change. The non-profit instigates and presents on-line and in-gallery exhibitions by individual photographers and collectives, most dealing with issues around raising awareness and motivating social change. For the past few years, Foto Mission has partnered with children’s organizations and volunteer photographers to produce “The Waiting,” an exhibition of portraits of children waiting for adoption. Bringing personal images of these kids to a wider audience has significantly helped the adoption rate for these older and special needs children. There are galleries of other individual and group photo essays and projects on the site, and just in case you think Foto Mission is too focused on issues, there is the occasional “Photographing Flowers” workshop to balance things out.  

FotoFest - Literacy Through Photography FotoFest may view photography as a means of international exchange on art and ideas, but it also recognize the medium’s power to “act locally.” Its innovative writing program “Literacy Through Photography” is a lesson plan that aims to build visual, verbal and textual literacy in 3rd through 12th grade children. The program has been going in local schools for 15 years and is the quiet and continuing success story behind the hoopla of FotoFest’s bi-annual convergence in Houston, Texas. The conference features discussion forums, film and video series, and exhibitions by established and lesser-known photographers in galleries around the city. Along with the “big picture,” each meeting features workshops, a portfolio review with photography professionals, museum curators, gallery owners and magazine editors. There is also a Fine Print auction that benefits “Literacy Through Photography.”  

Fovea The name refers to the area of the retina where our vision is most clear, a poetic title for a site that showcases humanitarian and social issues seen through the lens of photojournalism. Fovea’s real world work centers around education and community outreach; the organization creates opportunities for students of New York’s Hudson Valley to meet visiting photojournalists who share their experience and their work. Fovea also hosts panel discussions and outdoor projections for the area’s communities Fovea’s website highlights exhibitions, photo-based outreach projects, and supports photo events ranging from a project focusing on homeless teenagers to the launch of James Nachtwey’s photo-based media campaign against Extremely Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB). 

Gallery 44 Like many artist-run art centers, Toronto’s Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography is particularly interested in supporting and advancing the work of local artists, in this case photographers. Offering something for all levels, the Gallery puts special emphasis on education, with a strong roster of weekend workshops, photography summer camp for teens and a professional photographer – as – mentor student outreach program. A resource centre, a darkroom and production facilities round out the organization’s assets. Submission guidelines are provided for what looks to be a healthy exhibition schedule, the quality of which is confirmed by the Gallery’s impressive publication list. Exceptional documentation is provided by an online database that allows searches by artist, exhibition or image.  

Generation F-Stop Working out of the Evanston Art Center, one of the largest community art centers in Illinois, Generation F-Stop blends photography with journal writing to create new ways of self-expression for the girls in this program. As the girls learn the techniques of digital photography and keep a running journal of their experience, they become increasingly aware of and articulate about their ideas and experiences. A selection of the girls’ photographs is included in the Art Center’s biennial Youth Fine Arts Student Exhibition. 

Houston Center for Photography – Outreach The Houston Center for Photography’s programming is built on the solid foundations of exhibition and education, and education arguably is the HCP’s stronger platform, and this mandate stretches from the large roster of lectures, classes and workshops they offer to the outreach programs that bring photography to a variety of Houston communities. Their programs include “Picture This!,” a collaboration with the Children’s Hospital at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic that integrates photography into the children’s art curriculum, “Collaborations, ” a project that assembles Houston high school kids to make photos and exhibit them, as well as a project that initiates elementary students to the joy of self-expression through photography. The HCP’s other educational assets include their Learning Center, which features a critique room, a photography research library, and gallery where work from the Center’s community outreach projects is often displayed.  

Hyde Park, Chicago The Hyde Park Art Center calls itself “the oldest alternative exhibition space in Chicago” and is equally known for its longstanding community education program. Classes range from a variety of art and crafts classes and workshops for adults to youth and pre-school programs. The Teen Photography class leads adolescents through the basics of film photography and developing. In this increasingly digital age, classes like this offer kids an understanding of the “do it yourself” possibilities of the medium.  

InSight What began with a couple of photographers trying to address the problem of an epidemic of teen loitering with a free course in photography has become an established and respected outreach program. Photographers Bill Ledger and John Willis thought that someone should give the kids in their Brattleboro, Vermont, neighborhood something creative to with their free time, and thus what began with a one time course quickly became a year round program that has attracted a consistent following. Judging by the quantity and variety of student work displayed in galleries on the site, the project has taken off. Beyond the technical classes that introduce kids to the basics of analogue and digital photography and web design, there are side projects that bring kids and their work into the wider world. One such project is Exposures, a cross-cultural youth exchange program that brings kids together from Vermont, New York City, the Navajo Tribe in Arizona, and the Oglala Lakota Tribe in South Dakota.  

Kids Camera Project, New Orleans The New Orleans Kid Camera Project was created to address the psychological and emotional impacts of Hurricane Katrina on children returning home to New Orleans. Through the use of photography, creative writing and mixed media, children from flooded neighborhoods explore their environment and express themselves, their stories and feelings with their friends. The project provides a venue for growth and recovery. The project teaches the children tangible skills, exposes them to new means of expression, and hopes to empower them to impact their lives and environment. 

Kids With Cameras No one who has seen the Oscar-winning film “Born into Brothels” will soon forget the impact of the work that the non-profit Kids With Cameras does by teaching photography to some of the most disadvantaged children in the world. Photographer Zana Brinski’s program of teaching photography to the stigmatized children of Calcutta’s prostitutes became a life-altering event for these kids, giving them a new skill, the wisdom to see their own lives through the lens and the mentorship of a committed teacher. Kids with Cameras has since initiated similar photo projects with at risk children around the world. that have gone beyond teaching: they have changed the way these children see themselves, and ultimately, how society understands them and itself.  

Leave Out Violence Canadian based Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE), is a long-term violence-prevention youth program that uses photography and writing to work through the causes and impact of aggression. Here, victims, witnesses and perpetrators of violence come together. Young mentors lead their peers in multi-media and leadership training to develop life-skills, a sense of community and critical thinking. Photojournalism becomes the medium through which kids can come to terms with the complicated feelings the violence in their lives creates, all the while finding a new voice. The site features a gallery of photos and writings by kids from across Canada.  

Literacy Through Photography - Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University Duke University’s excellent Center for Documentary Studies stretches out into the community to sponsor a Literacy through Photography program in public schools in Durham, S. C. Teaching children to use cameras, interviews and writing as tools to observe their world, the program fosters critical thinking and creativity. The CDS has even created offshoots of the Literacy Through Photography approach with a program called “Regarding Race” that invites Durham school children to use photography and writing as a means to open a dialogue about race. To keep this cycle of creative discovery rolling, the CDS encourages mentoring through its Literacy through Photography teacher and community leader training workshops.  

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Eye on Third Ward Every year, students at Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas, submit their photographs to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) for the “Eye on Third Ward” exhibit. The collaboration is a huge source of pride to the young photographers, and their “artist statements” are poetic gems, reflecting the impact photography has had on their lives and community. Funded in part by the Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, “Eye on Third Ward” pays tribute to the historically African American neighborhood that is home to the school. The website is clean and creative, featuring over 100 images from the exhibit archives. 

My Story Workshops, Portland Building upon Wendy Ewald’s Literacy Through Photography program, MyStory collaborates with families, schools and community organizations in developing projects that build confidence and engage the creativity of young people. MyStory works primarily in the disadvantaged neighborhoods in and around the city of Portland, but also operates similar projects in South Africa. In each case, MyStory puts cameras in the hands of young people; “Photography is a uniquely accessible medium that empowers” and provides opportunities for youth to share their stories with the world. 

National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) National Press Photographers Association site provides a central meeting place where photojournalists can discuss topics that relate to the profession, including the stresses and traumas associated with being a photojournalist. NPPA Member Services offers a crisis intervention team, a peer support network that consists of fellow photojournalists, trained to listen and support. The NPPA’s site also contains news and events pages, professional development information, competition notices, and services for members. Members have access to active message boards covering a broad range of topics including business, news, current events, digital editing, ethical issues and photo gear. 

New Orleans Kids Camera Project The text describing this project’s philosophy is very direct about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the children of New Orleans, and yet it is almost poetic in its description of these children’s creative use of photography and writing to deal with this traumatic event. New Orleans Kid Camera Project provides small groups of children with cameras that they use to document their lives. The films are developed once a week and the kids meet to look at the pictures and participate in spoken word and creative writing exercises such as rap and poetry. Galleries of their images and writing are on the site, testimony to the recovery and growth that this project is nurturing in New Orleans’ youth. 

New Urban Arts New Urban Arts, the interdisciplinary arts studio for high school students and emerging artists in Providence, Rhode Island, believes that everyone needs a mentor “someone to trust, to share honesty with, and to enable us to be accountable to ourselves.” NUA’s three core programs are clearly designed to educate the kids, their mentors and the community, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of creative endeavor. In their studio and exhibition space, New Urban Arts runs a variety of programs as well as mentoring for young artists who explore the visual, performing, and literary arts through yearlong free out-of-school programs. Results can be seen and heard on the New Urban Arts podcasts, Flickr gallery, blog page, YouTube site and MySpace page, and measured by the positive statistics and many awards this non-profit has garnered.  

NPPA Mentoring Program The National Press Photographers’ Association offers its members a unique reinforcement of their professional and community bonds through the Association’s Mentoring Program, which pairs up-and-coming press photographers with the veteran member of their choice. The idea is that mentors can provide the wisdom of their experience on any number of career and craft issues, and that these relationships ultimately assure quality and continuity in the profession. 

ph15 There is a poetic quality about ph15, a project that aims to create a beacon of self-expression in the disenfranchised youth of Buenos Aires’s "Ciudad Oculta", or Hidden City. It’s in this often forgotten place that career photographers have built a program that aims to help adolescents see themselves and the Hidden City through the lens of a camera. Far from being anonymous, the kids participating in this project are named, pictured and given their own gallery space on this slickly designed site. Beyond allowing the students to see themselves in new ways, the other aim of ph15 is clearly for others to see them, and the list of Brazilian and international exhibitions of their work is a testament to this project’s success.  

Picture Me - Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Photography expanded its education mandate into an outreach program and created Picture Me, an intensive after school photography program for students at selected schools in the Chicago area. Led by a teaching team of high school art teachers and Columbia College photography faculty, graduate students, and MoCP staff and guest artists, students are taught the basics of photography, darkroom practice and digital imaging. They are encouraged to develop their own artistic voices through photography, becoming more self-reflective as their observe their world through a lens and consider the experience through journaling. At the end of this intensive course, students have the same skill levels as students in a first year college photography program. The crowning achievement of this program must be for students to see their work framed and exhibited in the hallowed halls of the Museum at MoCP’s annual Talkin’ Back exhibition.  

Rayko Photo Center - Youth In a town where people have access to some excellent photo resources, San Francisco’s RayKo Photo Center provides a community photo facility that includes, among very many other things, a vital Youth Education Program. The schedule features in-class or on-site photo courses for kids 6 and up, and there is also a “summer camp” program that invites parents to drop their kids off at the RayKo Center where they will “spend all day learning about photography, doing prints, taking photos, and going on field trips.” The program organizers make the valid point that photography provides kids with that rare blend of artistic and technical skills, while opening up a new avenue for self-expression. 

Red Hook Photo Project Because Red Hook is one of the oldest settled areas in Brooklyn, NY, and has over the years struggled with poverty and isolation from the rest of the borough, the Red Hook Community Justice Center’s social workers initiated a photography-based program designed to introduce art and self-expression into a neighborhood where there is a great need for youth programs. The annual summer-long Red Hook Youth Photography Project takes young people from the ages of 14 to 18 and trains them to reflect on their surroundings and their lives through the medium of photography. The end of the project comes with an exhibition of the students’ work at the Justice Center.  

Storytellers - Crealdé School of Art This Central Florida art school uses photography and storytelling as ways for at risk, inner-city and rural minority kids to “explore their community and document their surroundings,” helping them to build their identity and remember their history. “Storytellers,” is the Crealdé School of Art’s program combines oral history and photography as a way for children to discover the history of their communities and tell the story of their own lives. Students are taught how to use camera equipment and darkroom facilities while also gathering information about their subjects and shaping a written counterpart to their photo essays. The results of these thoughtful explorations are exhibited in community settings. 

Unseenamerica Conceived as way to give workers, and now kids at-risk, the guidance and the technical knowledge to be able to tell their own stories, Unseenamerica is a project that sheds light on the lives of those who are made to feel invisible in our society. Developed by Bread and Roses, the nonprofit cultural arm of Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, Unseenamerica is a program of weekly photo lessons and mentorship in the art of storytelling. Chinese garment workers, Philippina nannies, and the at-risk youth who’s lives and work go unreported, have contributed their stories to Unseenamerica, and it has had an amazing resonance: the project has been introduced in 22 states and has been widely reported on in the press. Unseenamerica photographs and stories were recently published in book form, and contributors, the unseen, were invited to a book launch at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. There is power in a picture. 

Venice Arts Moving past the clichés of California’s Venice Beach scene, this site reveals the area’s important population of low-income residents and the vital community arts organization that serves them. Venice Arts is a mentorship program that uses art (primarily photography) to offer local kids from ages 10 to 18 the tools and guidance to stimulate imagination, creativity and self-confidence. According to the site’s impressive “Venice Arts documentary short film,” mentors are creative professionals who share a strong bond with their students, supported by a well equipped facilities and excellent community outreach. Slide shows of student work and exhibitions give a sense of the organization’s achievements.  

Youth in Focus Seattle-based Youth in Focus provides an important insight when they say that photography uniquely combines instant gratification with endless potential for perfecting one’s art. It’s the spark of creativity and the work ethic to see a project through that this non-profit has inspired by teaching year-round classes to students of all skill levels, cultural and economic backgrounds. The skills that photography awaken in students are nurtured by Youth in Focus’s network of teachers and mentors, hopefully to be transferred into useful life skills. Student work has been shown in some of Seattle’s most prestigious cultural venues, a testament to the quality of the work and to the quality of the teaching.