Always nice to come across a worthwhile participatory photography initiative, even nicer to find one set up in my old manor. Fotosynthesis was established in 2010 by a group of professional photographers, and is now based out of the Lilian Baylis Old School in Kennington, South London.
They run a darkroom and studio space where they provide training in traditional b&w as well as digital photography. Private classes are available for community projects, and seminars are hosted for emerging artists to promote their work.
‘My grandmother’ by Diana Garcia.
The photo triptych above was exhibited at the British Film Institute for Refuge In Films 2012 in partnership with RefugeeYouth. Refuge In Films is a film festival curated by young refugees, who produced their own films and organise the event. It aims to raise awareness about the representation of refugees and migrants’ issues. Fotosynthesis exhibited a series of photographs at the festival that showed the life of three family members who migrated from Colombia (grandmother, mother and son).
Participants discovering their first films
Ingrid Guyon, one of the Dirctors of Fotosynthesis says,
“We aim at giving a voice to marginalised people, provide educational activities and encourage community cohesion using photography. We use participatory methods to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where people can develop their critical thinking and engage with each other in a stimulating way.”
Filed under: Photography, Training Tagged: | participatory photography, refugee, UK
