A New Vista for Children: "The Memory of Home" Photography Exhibition
"The Memory of Home" photography exhibition was curated and organized by teachers and volunteers from a photography project, and nine students from Tunshan Elementary School in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Crossing the threshold between 2020 and 2021, this 2-month-long exhibition was a dream come true for not only the students but also the teachers and volunteers who have accompanied them on their journey over the years.
The Beginning
In December of 2011, ACF launched the “A New Vista for Children” campaign. Inspired by Mr. Lin Shi-Ming, a photojournalist at United Daily News, the project aimed to teach children how to capture moments of their childhood, and to foster the ability to observe their surroundings through the lens of a camera. With smartphones and tablet cameras substituting digital cameras, this campaign encouraged people across the nation to donate their used cameras. ACF gathered over 5,000 second-hand cameras, thus allowing the campaign to bring professional photographers together to teach photography to children living in rural and remote communities in Hualien and Taitung.
The Beginning
In December of 2011, ACF launched the “A New Vista for Children” campaign. Inspired by Mr. Lin Shi-Ming, a photojournalist at United Daily News, the project aimed to teach children how to capture moments of their childhood, and to foster the ability to observe their surroundings through the lens of a camera. With smartphones and tablet cameras substituting digital cameras, this campaign encouraged people across the nation to donate their used cameras. ACF gathered over 5,000 second-hand cameras, thus allowing the campaign to bring professional photographers together to teach photography to children living in rural and remote communities in Hualien and Taitung.
Following the success of the six-month long “A New Vista for Children” campaign, and armed with an abundance of resources, ACF decided to launch a long-term photography project at the end of 2012. The Campus Photography Project was a 3-year-program aimed to establish photography as a permanent part of the curriculum and cultivate creativity and aesthetic appreciation in students. The goal was to create a self-sustaining photography program in schools that could eventually run under the guidance of schoolteachers, and without the presence of volunteers. ACF hoped that in doing so, photography would not only bring joy to the children’s everyday lives, but also help them develop a new skillset/hobby.
In 2017, ACF expanded the project by bringing it to six rural schools in New Taipei City. A key member of this expansion project is Mr. David Hong. David Hong first got involved with this project in 2012, while he was working as the sponsorship representative at Canon. After his retirement, David joined the project as a volunteer and took on the responsibility of recruiting and training new volunteers. Over the course of 4 years, David has accumulated a mileage of over 14,000 km as he escorted volunteers to different schools across New Taipei City. Despite the goal of creating a self-sustaining photography program, many dedicated volunteers decided to continue accompanying the children even after the end of the program.
Understanding the project’s vision and acknowledging its value, the WT Educational Foundation joined this program as a major sponsor and facilitated the project’s continuation, in 2019. This allowed the program to become self-sustaining, thus accomplishing ACF’s goal of inviting others in the industry or NPO to learn from ACF’s success and work together in sustaining positive initiatives in society.
In 2017, ACF expanded the project by bringing it to six rural schools in New Taipei City. A key member of this expansion project is Mr. David Hong. David Hong first got involved with this project in 2012, while he was working as the sponsorship representative at Canon. After his retirement, David joined the project as a volunteer and took on the responsibility of recruiting and training new volunteers. Over the course of 4 years, David has accumulated a mileage of over 14,000 km as he escorted volunteers to different schools across New Taipei City. Despite the goal of creating a self-sustaining photography program, many dedicated volunteers decided to continue accompanying the children even after the end of the program.
Understanding the project’s vision and acknowledging its value, the WT Educational Foundation joined this program as a major sponsor and facilitated the project’s continuation, in 2019. This allowed the program to become self-sustaining, thus accomplishing ACF’s goal of inviting others in the industry or NPO to learn from ACF’s success and work together in sustaining positive initiatives in society.
The Magic of Photography
Outdoor photography is one of the most popular aspects of the campus photography course. Every excursion starts with the children excitedly jumping into David's car and asking "where are we going?". The journey to the destination is full of lively chatter with the children eager to share what's going on in their lives. The photography volunteers encourage the children by praising their photos, and thus motivating them to work on improving their craft. Through this experience, the children learned how to capture and look at the world from different angles. The magic of this photography class truly lies in the positive reinforcement given to the children by the volunteers.
Outdoor photography is one of the most popular aspects of the campus photography course. Every excursion starts with the children excitedly jumping into David's car and asking "where are we going?". The journey to the destination is full of lively chatter with the children eager to share what's going on in their lives. The photography volunteers encourage the children by praising their photos, and thus motivating them to work on improving their craft. Through this experience, the children learned how to capture and look at the world from different angles. The magic of this photography class truly lies in the positive reinforcement given to the children by the volunteers.
Observing the World Through Photography
To sustain the success of the photography course, teachers play a crucial role in maintaining consistent and long-term learning habits in children. Schoolteacher Hsu Ju-Ching from Tunshan Elementary School shoulders this responsibility by teaching the students how to observe the world through their pictures. After the 3-year photography course, she decided to implement photography into her everyday lessons. One of the classroom activities was to create little booklets with the pictures they took of terrestrial crabs. The children wrote down facts about terrestrial crabs and recorded their observations. Schools often have a shortage of resources. Therefore, photography can serve as a good outlet for students to express their feelings, while learning about the environment.
To sustain the success of the photography course, teachers play a crucial role in maintaining consistent and long-term learning habits in children. Schoolteacher Hsu Ju-Ching from Tunshan Elementary School shoulders this responsibility by teaching the students how to observe the world through their pictures. After the 3-year photography course, she decided to implement photography into her everyday lessons. One of the classroom activities was to create little booklets with the pictures they took of terrestrial crabs. The children wrote down facts about terrestrial crabs and recorded their observations. Schools often have a shortage of resources. Therefore, photography can serve as a good outlet for students to express their feelings, while learning about the environment.
In 2020, the photography collection "The View of the World through Little Frames" was published by means of crowdfunding. The collection is full of hand-drawn illustrations and creative poetry. A photography exhibition was held after the publication as well.
What the Children Have Learned and Gained from Photography
"Photography has brought freedom to me" is a quote by one of the children on the photography course. Perhaps “freedom” refers to a child’s ability to look upon the world from a new perspective and from a different angle. The volunteers and teachers involved in this project hope that this experience inspires children to become curious, and fall in love with the world through photography. They also hope that from this experience, the children will learn to appreciate the people in their everyday lives, and learn to love themselves. (English translation by: Juliana YH Kao.)
"Photography has brought freedom to me" is a quote by one of the children on the photography course. Perhaps “freedom” refers to a child’s ability to look upon the world from a new perspective and from a different angle. The volunteers and teachers involved in this project hope that this experience inspires children to become curious, and fall in love with the world through photography. They also hope that from this experience, the children will learn to appreciate the people in their everyday lives, and learn to love themselves. (English translation by: Juliana YH Kao.)
