unseenAmerica
The Banana Factory is honored to present the unseenamerica photography project to the Lehigh Valley community. The project gives a voice and a vision to individuals who remain “unseen” in the mainstream media.
Unseenamerica for at-risk youth is a wonderful opportunity for kids to express themselves in a very positive way. Weekly photography lessons help students create better pictures. The writing element of the project includes writing personal captions and crafting an individual artistic statement of their work. What is truly important in their lives becomes important to photograph and write about.
The project always culminates with an exhibition of work to share with family, friends and the entire community. Having the opportunity to showcase their work publicly is a tremendous accomplishment for these children. Their sense of pride and self esteem is magnified greatly by this program.
The unseenamerica project is the creation of Esther Cohen, the Executive Director of the Bread and Roses group in New York City. Bread and Roses is the cultural and artistic arm of Union 1199. Originally the program focused on union workers such as Chinese garment workers and Philippine nannies, and has since branched out to include at-risk youth as well as other minority groups. unseenamerica has been completed in 22 states and has been written up in The New York Times, Washington Post and featured on ABC television and NPR.
unseenamerica is made possible by the support of ArtsQuest Members.
To learn more & become a member, click here.
