What is Participatory Photography?
Participatory photography produces photos that are artistically courageous and unique, while also providing a tool for social change. Imbued with a sense of authenticity that pleases old-fashioned tendencies and the post-modern discomfort with anything that claims more than an outsider's political correctness, participatory photography teases the edges of documentary practice and poses some unique challenges and opportunities to photographers in the tradition. Participatory photography is a research approach that documents community assets and concerns, invites critical discussion, and strengthens communication ties with policymakers.
History
First introduced in 1992, Mary Ann Burris and Caroline Wang studied the lives of rural women from the Yunnan Province, China, using cameras in a participatory manner that shed light on their hardships and eventually influenced policies and international aid programs. The London-based organization PhotoVoice defines this unique approach as one that, “bring[s] about positive social change for marginalized communities through providing them with photographic training with which they can advocate, express themselves and generate income.” The PhotoVoice Manual: A guide to designing and running participatory photography projects, explains that participatory photography becomes a catalyst for marginalized voices by enabling participants to raise awareness of important issues they experience (by developing photographic and communication skills), advocate for their rights (by targeting key decision makers of policy change and empowering participants to become more powerful decision makers in their own lives) and exchange information (through exchanges, dialogues, and education). Participatory photography powerfully encourages self-development by empowering individuals to take control of their own lives and become actively engaged in helping themselves through developing confidence, skills (thinking, social and decision making), and allowing needed therapeutic benefits to arise.
There are currently more than thirty organizations worldwide performing participatory photography programs, often with profound results. To help unite global efforts in the domain of participatory photography, The University of Southern California and The Venice Arts have launched the Institute of Photographic Empowerment (IPE). IPE provides resources and a point of collaboration for organizers and researchers of participatory photography projects.
My Projects
Part 1: I organized and coordinated the first rural participatory photography project in Tibga, Burkina Faso during my service with the United States Peace Corps as a Community Outreach Agent. During a span of eight weeks six girls, two women and three men participated in this groundbreaking project which sought three objectives. First, measure the effectiveness of participatory photography as a method for analyzing girls’ empowerment in rural West Africa. Second, assess the reality of photography as marketable skill for girls and women in rural West African communities. Finally, this project was designed as a pilot to assess the general strengths and weakness of participatory photography in rural West African communities. To fulfill these three objectives the participants finished three different photographic assignments focused on girls in rural communities and three different types of photo critiques. Six framed photographs were given to the community's major by the participants during a dedication ceremony which marked the end of the project. Participants also had the honor of being the first Burkinabees to enter into the annual Shoot Nations global youth photo competition organized Plan UK and Shoot Experience.
Part 2: As a result of this groundbreaking pilot participatory photography project in Burkina Faso, I organized the first rural professional photography training. In the honor of sustainability and community driven action I prepared a couple local photographers, one of which was the sole female photographer in the country, to lead the training. Over the course of two months, six rural high school girls and two women learned the fundamentals of digital photography, business development, four different styles of photography, and networked with professional photographers around the country. These eight participants and two trainers exhibited their work at a rural traditional arts festival. Given the quality of her work, one of the participants was later invited to another professional photography training in the country’s capital organized by the Minister of Arts and Tourism. She has since started her own photography business and is now organizing smaller trainings herself back in her rural village for out-of-school girls. With the benefits from her business she was able to buy a donkey to farm with year after year. This will be the first year that she will not farm all her fields by hand.
Part 3: More details coming soon.