We made it back from Kenya!

We are so excited to let you all know that we will have a booth of photography and videos of the youth that we worked with in Kisumu, Kenya at photo ny (http://www.artfairsinc.com/photony/2006/), an international expo of photography galleries and installations.

While in Kisumu, we came to understand that in this country notorious for corruption, in an area where HIV/AIDS, prostitution, rape, alcohol and substance abuse, discrimination, crime, poverty, and unemployment are among the first and most commonly mentioned issues by these young people, they are forced to make life and death decisions on a daily basis. Under such circumstances, it becomes easy to lose hope. One of the most important things to aid young people in overcoming the multitude of destructive forces and barriers that exist in their lives is a sense of value in themselves. The understanding of self-value encourages them to sacrifice the instant gratification of high-risk behaviors for the hope of a brighter future. Through training, group and individual work, discussions, and ultimately an exhibition of their work in Kisumu, we found that hope can come from validation of their thoughts, messages, projects, and expression through simply having people show up to look at what they have created.

We have decided to take this project further, and so we will be presenting some of the work of these young people at photo ny. Our booth (#40), Voices is an exhibition of photography and video depicting issues facing the youth of Kisumu, Kenya through their own eyes (as well as some of Alexis' pictures of the process).

Voices will exhibit at photo ny at the Metropolitan Pavillion located at 125 West 18th Street in New York City. If you are in the area, we would love for you to attend.

Schedule:

Thursday, October 5th
Opening night reception: 6 - 9 pm
Tickets - $65 only available through the box office at 212.620.5000 ext.344
The proceeds will benefit Rubin Museum of Art

Public Hours:

Friday, October 6th
Noon -7 pm: Public Hours

Saturday, October 7th
Noon -7 pm: Public Hours
Sunday, October 8th
Noon-6 pm: Public Hours

Public hours tickets are $15 for a one-day pass and $25 for a three-day pass ($5 discount with student ID).

We hope to see you there!

This year marks the start of the Voices project. With further exposure and the aid of much needed donations, both monetary and in the form of video and digital cameras, printers, and computers, this will be one of many exhibitions and the start of a meaningful avenue of expression for the youth of Kisumu, Kenya. Additionally, Sara is currently working with Abila Creative Center to grow its internship program by welcoming volunteers with skills they would like to pass onto the youth of Kisumu.