In 2017 I co-founded and ran the John White Photography Class with a fellow photographer, Georgia Bond. The class ran for two years in a community centre in Binley, Coventry.
The children who attended were aged 6 – 16, and whilst they were a diverse community of people, most of them were from a lower, working class background. For many of the children, this class was a place of stability, and a regular activity they could look forward to each week. Through weekly sessions, we taught the children a variety of photographic processes, and explored a range of themes including home, identity and belonging.
Together we created a collaborative body of work titled Week By Week, which documented the experiences of the individuals involved, through photographs, drawings or pieces of writing they had constructed during the class. The project takes the form of a series of photobooks alongside a number of exhibitions, in which we encouraged the children to be curators of their own work. The project acknowledges the importance of community spaces where people from all backgrounds can come together to connect, and celebrate who they are. It also highlights the relationships that can be created when working collaboratively, not only as class and teacher, but as a community of creatives.
The project was incredibly well received by both the children and the parents, who said it was a positive opportunity for them to have this creative-based activity in the centre.