Thursday, May 23, 2013

Inside Out Cartagena Photography Project


A returned Peace Corps volunteer put me in contact with Arturo, a Colombian-American professional photographer living in Boston. His plan was to return to Colombia to do a photography project with impoverished youth. After a few months in contact with him, he finally arrived to Cartagena, thereafter giving cameras to ten of my students.


The ultimate aim of the "Inside Out Cartagena" photography project was to expose the faces of leaders from the inner-neighborhoods of the city, simultaneously giving a voice to the youth who took their pictures. My students were instructed to think of leaders in their communities, people who combat and defy problems on a daily basis, and take their picture. After printing the pictures, we gathered in the historic/touristic/wealthy area of Cartagena, or the City Center, and walked around with the photographs, finally finishing at Cuidad Movil, an art and cultural center, where the pictures were exhibited for the following week.