Photography and the search for meaning

PSA Journal, May, 2003 by Gwenn Karel Levine

One day, while driving to work, I heard someone on the radio ask the question, "what do you yearn for?" I was so taken with this profound question that I immediately reached for a pad and pencil and wrote down the first three things that came to mind:

* Do something with photography

* Do something in Paterson, NJ

* Live a life of meaning

When I looked at my list, I realized that these three ideas could really be one endeavor if I could figure out a way to do something meaningful with photography in Paterson. This thought was so compelling that it stayed with me for a year or so while I began to consider the possibilities for making it come true.

There were a number of things occurring in my life that created the milieu for dreaming such a dream. I had purchased my first SLR camera in January 1996, when I was 50 years old. I spent the next few years attending weeklong workshops, acquiring good equipment, learning technique, and participating actively in the Ridgewood Camera Club. Within a few years I evolved into a serious amateur photographer, and in 2001, I exhibited and sold a few of my photographs for the first time.

At the same time, I was the Vice President of Community and Regulatory Affairs at a large medical center in Paterson, NJ. As part of my community outreach activities, I helped establish The Paterson Alliance, a coalition of non-profit agencies. In doing so, I became quite familiar with these agencies' programs in such areas as community development, housing, health, and education, emergency assistance, justice, and advocacy.

Paterson is a city of about 150,000 people, most of whom are poor. The average per capita income in Paterson is only $10,000 per year and 80% of the public school children qualify for free or reduced price lunches. There are a number of public housing projects and transitional housing programs in the city. Paterson's school system performed so badly that it was taken over by the state years ago. It was also designated an "Abbott district" under a State Supreme Court ruling intended to help impoverished inner city schools achieve parity with their suburban counterparts, thus giving inner city kids an equal opportunity for a quality education.

I called the Director of Youth Development at HOPE worldwide and asked whether I could one day teach a photography class at her agency's School of the Arts and Technology, a Saturday morning enrichment program for kids, most of whom live in public housing. She was so enthusiastic and welcoming that I was intimidated at the thought of really doing this. I asked her to give me some time to figure out how to proceed.

As I talked about this with friends and colleagues, I eventually discovered that three members of my camera club were also interested in mentoring children in photography. In addition, I contacted the Paterson YMCA, which has after school and summer programs for kids (and whose Director, I knew, was a shutterbug!). I also contacted CUMAC, an emergency food pantry that operates an after school Tutoring and Literacy Center (TLC) for children in a Paterson church. Like HOPE worldwide, these agencies had the children and facilities already in place.

Based on everyone's enthusiasm about the possibility of offering photography classes for kids, I convened a meeting on October 25, 2001 to start the planning process. Interestingly, no one at this meeting asked whether we should proceed--they only discussed how. Participants included HOPE worldwide, the Paterson YMCA, CUMAC, and amateur photographers who were interested in teaching. We immediately named this initiative the Paterson Youth Photography Project (PYPP, pronounced "pip") and, during the next three months, prior to our first class on January 26, 2002, we accomplished the following:

* Developed a 14-week curriculum for the Spring 2002 semester

* Produced a brochure for PYPP

* Defined our mission, goals, and objectives.

* Invited Passaic County Community College (PCCC) to become a PYPP partner agency

* Bought 42 point-and-shoot cameras with $6,000 from a technology grant to PCCC

* Raised another $6,000 from three banks with active community outreach (CRA) departments

* Submitted two grant applications

* Found a Paterson vendor, Ellison Photo Lab, whose owner gave us discounts on film, film processing, enlarging, and framing

* Reserved three weeks in June 2002 for the PYPP Exhibit at the Paterson Museum

* Assigned responsibility to individual participants for various logistical functions such as these: drop off film and pick up prints each week, store the students' "best" prints and negatives during the semester, distribute and collect the cameras, organize an end-of-semester exhibit and reception at the Paterson Museum, create a Power Point presentation of the kids and their exhibit photos for the school's final performance, and arrange a traveling exhibit that would maximize the display of the children's photographs.

From January through May 2002, we came to know 28 children at the HOPE worldwide School of the Arts very well (about 14 in each of two classes). Aged 9-13, they ranged from shy to rambunctious, inarticulate to outspoken. About 65% of the children were Black and 35% were Hispanic. Most had no experience with photography. All were awestruck when we told them we would be sending them home with a $140 camera after the third class (on loan for the semester). Attendance for many was sporadic. Some took better photos on field trips with mentors than at home on their own. Needless to say, the teachers had a very steep learning curve as we began to adjust our plans to fit the children's interests and abilities.