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Exhibitions: Current | Upcoming | Past

Exhibitions: Past



Fall River: As I See It


Images from the Boys and Girls Club Photography Project


March 5 – April 1, 2008

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Launched in April 2008, Fall River: As I See It is an experimental project that provides digital cameras to kids and asks them to document their lives. Ventures like this have been introduced to children around the world, notably documented in the 2005 film by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, Born into Brothels, a project in which children in India were taught how to use a camera to begin recording the world around them. Briski has continued this work through a non-profit organization called Kids with Cameras. The Boys and Girls Club Photography Project is the initiative of the Children's Museum of Greater Fall River. This independent project initially targeted approximately 25 children between the ages of 13 and 18 who participate in Boys and Girls Club programming. The goal, while teaching camera basics and photography skills, was to inspire the students to create images reflecting their environment. The classroom program was administered by Rick Snizek, Editor of the Fall River Spirit, along with Museum volunteers. Mr. Snizek taught them the components of the camera, how to frame and compose shots, find the right subject matter, and develop a narrative.

With a focus on building an interactive and collaborative exhibit, Kathleen Hancock, Director of the Art Gallery worked with the Museum and the Boys and Girls Club to bring the exhibition together. The students worked to develop a portfolio of prints from which works were chosen for display in this exhibition. With the guidance of Museum teachers, teen counselors, and the Gallery, they were asked to write something about their imagery. The students wrote short a narrative to help capture the meaning of their photographs for a broad audience. They were challenged to think deeply about what they wanted others to know about their images and their photographic process, and learned to express this in a clear and meaningful language. The resulting exhibition provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen teamwork skills, meet deadlines, have fun and solve problems together.




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