The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.
Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.
My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.
Since the pandemic, I have been working from home with my new co-workers- who happen to be my pets. My husband has continued to work outside the home like “normal”. We live in an old, rambling farmhouse with lots of rooms, windows, doors and shadows. Since we haven’t been able to leisurely leave the house I have taken a ton of online classes- from gardening to tap dancing to this documentary photography class. Because of this class, I have started looking at my days as a collection of moments. I typically take photos of nature and landscapes so am drawn to beautiful things. I don’t look at my everyday life as interesting enough to photograph, besides maybe a cute pet photo, my gardens or art projects. What I have found though, is that even photographs of a seemingly “mundane” nature can be really interesting and draw a person in. I chose to use the same lens for the whole project to add a “landscape” feel to an intimate setting. My creatures are the “stars” of this and being home all day has given me the chance to see what they do all day…which is nothing;) My pets are a huge part of my life and are with us for a relatively short period of time so this will be a wonderful record of them and how we lived during the pandemic.
The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.
Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.
My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.
I joined Jason’s class to learn about street photography and finished with a meaningful collection showcasing the wonder my son displays while experiencing the world. I found that my son is my sanity. Even before the pandemic he keeps me grounded while also encouraging me to embrace the imaginary. Jason does a great job as an instructor. I felt very supported each week as I honed in on my focus for my final collection. Taking a class via Zoom seemed daunting but it was very doable and enjoyable.
The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.
Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.
My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.
I grew up in this house. The Green and White House. Moved out and came back more times than I’d like to admit. This house has been one of the most consistent things throughout my life. Along with the people inside it, it has always been here no matter what stage I’m at in my life. Graduating kindergarten, or high school, or college. Got a new job or lost a job. Visiting with a partner or living here single. As a child and as a parent.
This personal documentary class has allowed me time to capture my life and interactions within the “Green and White House” during a strange time for all of us. From giving myself a haircut in the bathroom to being a home school teacher in the kitchen.
The Personal Documentary Class at Flower City Arts Center is an outlet for photography students to practice critically looking at and discussing photo edits, essays and bodies of work. It also serves as a building block for the students to start making their own body of work and thinking of how to present their body of work in forms of edits.
Each week, the students shared their edits and their experiences during the pandemic. Together in class, we discussed what works and doesn’t work in the edits and the experiences in building our bodies of work. In just eight classes, each of the students were able to discover using photography as a tool to not only document their life but as an attempt to make sense of and/or cope with the world around us.
My vision for this class was for the students to have their own pop-up show for the last class as part of the learning experience, inviting members of the Flower City Arts Center community. Since that cannot happen, some students have chosen to display their work on this blog.
I moved to Rochester in 2015, and before that, I lived in Chicago for seven years. During that time, I lived in four different apartments. Between the four apartments, there were six bathrooms. And only one had a window. They were mostly like tombs, dark and wet, deemed unimportant, tucked away at the center of structures. A shored up bunker to retreat during nasty storms or if you heard a tornado siren, no chance of broken glass. Just fluorescent bulbs in place of sunlight. In 2016, I started renting half of a duplex in Swillburg, and the bathroom is the reason I signed the lease. The walls are half white tile, topped with plaster painted the color of a moody sky. The white bathtub is in one corner and open on two sides, with just a clear plastic shower curtain liner, to let in as much light as possible. The ceiling is glossy white beadboard, and the floor is dark one-inch square stone tile that reminds me of river rocks, but more orderly. And there is a glorious old window, with two painted wooden frames that unlock and swing into the room when open. Even though this bathroom is easily my favorite room in the house (perhaps in any place I’ve ever called home, if I’m honest), when I signed up for this photo class, I would have laughed if someone suggested that it would become the primary site of my photographic explorations. The bathroom? Ridiculous. But from the very first assignment, I made a beeline for my medicine cabinet. And then the window caught in its mirror’s reflection. My cat, Eartha Kitt, spends a lot of time in that window, now that it is open daily to let the early summer breeze in. The padded stool where I sit while my partner cuts my hair. The vanity, where so much handwashing has taken place. The bathtub, to wash the day away. It is a meditative refuge in a sea of uncertainty. A calm sanctuary when the outside world is a mess. An intimate space, where gentle care can take place.
Photo by Ni’YanaPhoto of Gabrieliz by JoelPhoto of Ni’Yana by Josiah
Hello everyone, Photo Club has made some exciting changes this year. We have expanded! Flower City Arts Center now proudly serve up to 45 students in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades from Wilson Foundation Academy and James Monroe High School.
The six goals of Photo Club are to:
empower youth to express their voice and vision
establish one to three year mentoring relationships
encourage youth to connect with their community
enhance knowledge of core school subjects
enable youth to build life skills
energize youth to work together in groups
Here’s some background and a sneak preview ofstudent work.
Photo Club started in the spring of 1999 and is now in its twenty-second consecutive year. Conducted by Flower City Arts Center, Photo Club is a 24 session after-school photography and writing program. After years of development, Studio 678’s model has been expanded to include Studio 789, James Monroe High School Photo Club.
Photo by Isabela
Students use a professional film camera to take pictures in the community, make their own black & white prints in the darkroom, write poems or stories to accompany their photographs, create a book of their work in the digital lab, and mat and frame their prints for exhibition.
Photo by Jadaly
The photography instructors at Flower City Arts Center work in partnership with teachers Michael Brundage and Alicia Oddo ofWilson Foundation Academy, and Shanterra Chalice and Nilsa Irizarry of James Monroe High School.These dedicated and caringteachers provide an essential link from the school to our after-school program. They help recruit students, participate in every meeting, and monitor the academic performance, attendance, and individual needs of our students.
Photo by Desire
Photo Club is free to students; Flower City Arts Center secures funding for the program each year. This year’s supporters include Canfield and Tack, Cheryl & Don Olney, Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, DiBella’s, Fay Slover Fund at The Boston Foundation,
Photo by Isabela
Feinbloom Supporting Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, Lumiere, William & Sheila Konar Foundation, Mary S. Mulligan Charitable Trust, Nancy Sands, Teresa Sipone, Vicki & Richard Schwartz Family Fund, Janet Buchanan Smith, Jeanne & Tom Verhulst, Fred & Floy Willmott Foundation, and many individuals.
Kodak Alaris donated film, Blessed Sacrament Church provided use of their parking lot, and Domino’s donated pizza. Aenon Missionary Baptist Church provided us with vans to bring students to Flower City Arts Center from school, and to various field trip sites. The Greater Rochester Community Transportation Foundation provided a grant to pay for some of the transportation costs.
Photo of Kingston by Sahara
Look what we have been up to!
At our first meeting in September, students came to Flower City Arts Center to learn about photography by making photograms in the darkroom and learning how a 35mm film camera works.We then assigned five students to each of the nine lead photography instructors to form groups for the year.14 students from last year rejoined our club.
We then began rotating our time between field trips, including two Saturday trips, making black and white prints in the darkrooms at Flower City Arts Center, and learning how to scan and edit images using Photoshop.
Our field trip sites included…
Colleges – Monroe Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester.
Thermal photo of Ms. Liz’s group at RIT
Urban settings – Monroe Avenue, Neighborhood of the Arts, Martin Luther King Memorial Park, Public Market, Village Gate, High and Low Falls and Rochester Public Library.
Ms. Kylie’s group at MCC
Natural settings – Hemlock Hills Alpaca Farm, Lamberton Conservatory, Begin Again Horse Rescue, Cobbs Hill, Cracker Box Palace Animal Shelter, Sunken Gardens and Washington Grove.
Ms. Kylie group at Cracker Box Palace Animal Rescue
A variety of work places – stores on Monroe Avenue, Pet Pride of New York, Verona St Animal Society, Allie’s Pet Corner, Rochester Police Department Technicians Unit, and Rochester Fire Department Engine 1.
Ms. Juliana group visiting the Technicians Unit at RPD
Museums and historical sites – Mt. Hope Cemetery, Ganondagan State Historical Site, George Eastman Museum, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Museum and Science Center, and Strong Museum of Play.
Photo by Latifa
Community events – Fringe Street Beat and other Fringe Festival events, and Hilton Apple Festival.
Photo by James
Arts and cultural locations – UUU Gallery, Performing Arts Center at MCC, Photojournalism Projects Exhibition opening at RIT’s William Harris Gallery.
Mr. Quajay’s group in the Lighting Studio
In November and December students used the photography lighting studio to take portraits of each other. From November to January, poets Doug Curry, Grace Flores, Arthur “Marvelous Marvin” McCraw, and Laura Thompson performed their own poems for inspiration and helped the students create poems to accompany their pictures.
Students also learned how to scan their imagesand use Photoshop in our digital lab to help create a section of book pages, with their writing and photos, and to create a multi media presentation. All the students brainstormed ideas for the book titles Wilson’s cohort chose “Through Our Eyes” and Monroe’s cohort chose “Shared Life Through the Lens”. The book cover photographs will be revealed at the ceremonies this Spring.
Currently, students are matting and framingphotographs for their final exhibition. Some students will make 11X14 size prints for an exhibit at Image City Photography Gallery.In March, photos will be selected for permanent placement in a variety of community settings funded by the Fay Slover Fund at the Boston Foundation.
Studio 678 Wilson Foundation Academy Photo Club Final Ceremony
City Hall, 30 Church Street, Rochester, NY 14614, Friday, March 27th, 2020
6:30 pm: Awards Ceremony & Book Release in the City Council Chambers, third floor
Multi media Presentation of student art
Award Presentation with guest speaker
Book Release, copy awarded to each student
7:30 pm: Exhibition Opening Reception in The Link Gallery, first floor
A selection of Studio 678 members’ photographs, writing, and special projects will be on display.
Studio 789 James Monroe High School Photo Club Final Ceremony
James Monroe High School, 164 Alexander Street, Rochester, NY 14607 Saturday, March 28th, 2020
11:00 am: Awards Ceremony & Book Release in the Gymnasium
Multi media Presentation of student art
Award Presentation with guest speaker
Book Release, copy awarded to each student
12:00 pm: Exhibition Opening Reception in the Atrium
A selection of Studio 789 members’ photographs, writing, and special projects will be on display.
Please support these young photographers with your presence at these uplifting events celebrating the hard work, perseverance, and creativity of our students! We hope to see you there!
UPDATE: Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic we have postponed both the Studio 678 & 789 Exhibition Openings, Awards Ceremonies, and Book Releases. We plan to hold both at Flower City Arts Center at the end of May if we are able. For the most up-to-date information please check out our Facebook page.
Over the past few weeks I’ve been getting to know the Risograph duplicator and am finding it to be an incredibly versatile and useful machine for experimenting with image making. We’re so lucky in Rochester to have FCAC as a space where community members have access to specialized tools for art making!
I had the opportunity to teach an introductory workshop and whenever I teach I always learn more in the process. I really enjoyed seeing what color combinations and layering techniques the students used. FCAC also has a swatch book for the seven colors they keep in stock, which is helpful for the planning stages of any project.
Most of my interest in the Risograph comes from a need to expand my book making practice to larger editions. The cost effectiveness, speed, and eco friendliness of the Risograph far outweigh its drawbacks.
I have been primarily experimenting with the use of photographic imagery and was able to do this for the FCAC 2020 Printmaking and Book Arts calendar. The first two layers of my calendar month (June) were linoleum blocks printed on the Vandercook No.4 and the final two layers were printed using the Risograph duplicator.
I am also very excited about the potential for variation when printing on different colored papers. Below are a couple examples of images I’ve been working with so far:
It’s been two months since I started this residency. (I’m also 26 and one month exactly today) So far, I have finished teaching my first class titled “Photography in Queer Culture” which was a success! A lot of research was involved in preparing for the class, and I’m glad to have gotten this out of the way so I can now focus on making work having these artists in mind in order to keep conversations going. Not only was this my first time teaching adults, but also working with with ASL interpreters, which was very eye opening experience and contributes to a conversation regarding privilege outside of race and sexuality. I will be working on making a zine for the next couple of weeks with the work that the students provided to me during class. So keep an eye out for it at the beginning of next month!
I recently got into the show “Photography and Politics” curated by former Artist in Residence, Stephanie Mercedes. I’m excited to be part of this exhibition and I can’t wait for you all to come see my piece “Cody and Rork”
Hello, I’m happy to introduce myself as the new Risograph Artist-in-Residence in Photography & Digital Arts at Flower City Arts Center. For the next 6 weeks I will be experimenting with the Risograph duplicator. As a producer of visual books, I’m excited to see how the Risograph will expand my ability to execute projects that involve images and text.
Photo by Jeremy Moule
As an interdisciplinary artist who creates books and experimental video, I appreciate how the two relate as time-based media. I utilize elements of personal and collective history, erasure poetry, and materials gathered from various public and private archives to examine the constructs of religion, family, and memory.
I’m looking forward to using the Risograph to execute a book project over the next several weeks. I will keep you up to date on my progress through the blog and my instagram @maggiemagees.
For the past few weeks I have been thinking about what I would like to do for my exhibition at Flower City Arts Center. Even though, it is not until next August, I want to make as much work as possible. These are a few shots I took this weekend on my iPhone.
