Enthusing Young Minds

Enthusing Young Minds - Phase 1

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1st Brief - Free Reign

In this brief, the Young Aspiring Artists were asked to photograph whatever they wanted. This was to give them some freedom and to allow them the opportunity to tell us, or show us a story or a part of their life that they deem significant - and the didn't disappoint!

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Initially, this was deemed by some of my lecturers as quite a bold and potentially dangerous move for the project as I had no control over what would come back to me, and I agreed with them. I did however think this was exciting, not knowing how this would turn out, almost like Stephen Gill's work "Outside In" when he adds debris into his camera before he take his photos, also not knowing what the images will turn out like.

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The level of insight that came from this brief allowed us, the viewers, the consumers of the images, a glimpse of the world through the eyes of the Young Aspiring Artists. Please check out the gallery page for Free Reign for a selection of the images taken.

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2nd Brief - See Me

In this brief, the Young Aspiring Artists (YAA) were given eight questions to answer with the eight exposures that they get on the box brownie cameras that they were using. This brief was designed to encourage the YAA to slow down, think and consider what images they wanted to take, and think about how to take the desired pictures with certain constraints, such as available light, etc.

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Some of the YAA did struggle with this to start with and needed a small amount of coaching to get their creative juices flowing. Once they realised that they could be as creative or as literal as they liked, they started to enjoy this brief too. It gave the YAA the opportunity to tell us about themselves, what they like and how they feel; it was all about them and how they see themselves.

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Once again, the YAA surprised me in how creative they could be and how they see themselves, or how they want to be seen. One question asked "Who/ what would you be if you could be anything/ anyone?" and one answer in particular I found to be amazing. Meg, 17, answered that question with "I wouldn't want to be anybody but me. I am happy in my own body, I am who I am."  What an amazing positive image for a young lady to put out there; an inspiration to others.

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List of the questions:

1. Describe yourself

2. What is your perfect day?

3. What/who would you be if you could be anything/anyone?

4. What is your favourite hobby?

5. Show me your favourite space

6. What is your favourite childhood memory?

7. Who is your hero?

8. What is the first thing that made you smile today?

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3rd Brief - Remember When

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This brief asks the Young Aspiring Artists to regale a memory. One that you might share with friends or family, the kind which always start with "Do you remember when...?" 

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Remember When is designed to open their minds and learn to tell stories using pictures., The young artists have planned and executed their sequence of images increasing their visual literacy skills and learning that imagery is in fact a universal language.

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There was still a lot of creative freedom for the young artists to enjoy with this task while still instilling some of more difficult skills. For example; this could be an actual memory or story from their past or it could be an entire work of fiction. 

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There was eight shots available for the young artists to utilise, they could use all shots for one memory, or split them into multiple memories. Once again, the resulting work produced was of an exceptional standard with the artists ranging from 12 to 17 years of age. 

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This allows the young artists to start finding their own voice and think about what they want to say to the world through their image making.

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The artists were then asked to write, design and arrange their own stories for their double page spread in the third zine. Click the link below to see the full range of images. Or use the form at the bottom of the page to order yourself a copy of the Zines!