EDUCATION
Photographers in Through Each Others Eyes™ have worked each year to help young people understand cultures different from their own. Since inception, our photographers have concentrated on working directly with youth to teach both photography and life skills, while seeking sponsorships for additional photography and cultural programs to help young people understand and appreciate cultural values.
PHOTOGRAPHY EXCURSIONS WITH STUDENTS
From the first year of incorporation, members of TEOE have made presentations in schools and helped young people take meaningful pictures. For example, during the “State Fair Project” which ran for five years, TEOE photographers took junior and senior high school students to the Arizona State Fair, guided them as they took pictures of the events, and helped process their images to show them the positives and negatives of their effort.
DISPLAYS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES
In 2005, under the sponsorship of Arizona Public Service, the photographers of Through Each Others Eyes™ produced “The People of Japan” exhibit for the public schools of Casa Grande, AZ. Composed of 44 images depicting cultural life in Japan, the display was exhibited in the Casa Grande Public Library for four weeks for teachers and their students to view. With the assistance of Glendale teacher Nancy Matsui, TEOE photographers developed a workbook about Japan which was given to all elementary school teachers for classroom use. In addition, all teachers in the city school system received a DVD with additional information on each picture as well as information on the Japanese language.
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS IN SCHOOLS
Under the sponsorship of Wells Fargo Bank and Tempe Camera, TEOE produced an exhibition of photographs made by 6th Grade students at Lowell Elementary School in Phoenix, and at IMARC Elementary School in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Through Each Others Eyes photographers Paul O’Neill and Scott Baxter took disposable cameras, provided free by Tempe Camera, to Dustin Hesser’s sixth grade art class at Lowell Elementary School. O’Neill and Baxter engaged the students and guided them in how to create photographs of their home, their family, and their friends at school.
The resulting photographic exhibition, showcasing at least one picture from each participant, provided insight into the lives of these students, and showed the differences between the schools and neighborhoods in Phoenix and Hermosillo.