Photographs from the Inside

These are the photographs and words of thirteen girls, ranging from ages 14-18, who are incarcerated at a detention facility in Alachua County. The photographs were all taken inside their facility without showing faces. Taking photographs and sharing their own words through this project gave the girls an opportunity to think about how they are and would like to be represented at this moment in their life. Workshop participants were exposed to different types of photography, provided with digital cameras and taught manual photography.

UnseenEHS

These photographs were made by a groups of high school students who face many challenges as they transition into young adulthood, including assumptions about who they are as individuals. 

YSIA enables participants to share their stories through their own personal lens. They offer viewers an opportunity to move beyond the misrepresentations often found throughout society. 

Participating students were provided with digital cameras and learned manual photography.

Islam on Campus

As a response to the Islamophobia following the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, You See I Am (previously UnseenAmerica) facilitated photography classes with Muslim students at the University of Florida, giving them an opportunity to express themselves in ways that differed greatly from the stereotypical narrative that was being played out in most media outlets. Classes culminated in a traveling exhibit, which included venues such as the Gainesville Public Library, University of Florida Reitz Union, United Church of Gainesville, and local restaurants.  The National Endowment for the Arts sponsored this exhibit. 

Women in Transition

Our Gainesville group of photographers celebrates the lives, stories, and thoughts of six women who were recently or are currently residing in four of the areas shelters. A domestic violence shelter, a church shelter for families, transitional apartments, and a home for single mothers and their young children were all contacted in a direct response to a newspaper article on homelessness. The article’s focus was on single men and the city’s problems with their loitering and harassment of people who tried to venture downtown. Much of society thinks of homelessness and shelter life with severe negativity. The truth is, there are many more, hidden members of society who can be labeled “homeless” but who are full-time workers, part-time students, and mothers and women with children who are in school. Six of these women were given cameras and took part in an eight week photography class in order to learn how to convey their stories and images and words. As will be evident in their exhibit, they are intelligent, hard-working and sensitive people, with deeply meaningful poetry inside and wisdom to share.