Exhibition of photos from Syracuse Photovoice Project on display at Syracuse University through Oct. 1

Exhibition of photos from Syracuse Photovoice Project on display at Syracuse University through Oct. 1September 26, 2007Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The Southside Photovoice Project, an exhibition of photographs taken through the Syracuse Community Mapping and Health Photovoice Project facilitated earlier this year through the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University, will be on display through Monday, Oct. 1, in the Panasci Lounge in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.

The exhibition, part of the 2007 Syracuse Symposium presented by SU’s College of Arts and Sciences, is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Parking is available in the Booth Garage.

Photovoice is an innovative, participatory research strategy, first used by women in rural China, that “aims to use photographic images taken by persons with little money, power or status to enhance community needs assessments, empower participants, and induce change by informing policy makers of community assets and deficits.”

For the Syracuse project, African American mothers and female guardians between the ages of 18-50 from the South Side of Syracuse were recruited to participate through the Syracuse Community Health Center. Participants attended four workshops that covered issues related to community mapping, principles of photography and Photovoice ethics, and the conceptualization of space, safety and health. Using what they learned in the workshops, participants went out with cameras and took photos within the boundaries of their neighborhoods. An exhibition was held at the Community Folk Art Center, a division of the Department of African American Studies. Another exhibition is scheduled later this year at the Syracuse Community Health Center.

The Syracuse Symposium is a semester-long intellectual and artistic festival, hosted by SU’s College of Arts and Sciences, that celebrates interdisciplinary thinking, imagination and creation. The theme for the 2007 series is “Justice.” For more information, visit http://symposium.syr.edu.