Education: The Everyday Project: Video Lessons
Founded by Peter DiCampo and Austin Merrill, The Everyday Projects uses photography to challenge stereotypes that distort our understanding of the world. They are creating new generations of storytellers and audiences that recognize the need for multiple perspectives in portraying the cultures that define us.
The project brings together a network of journalists, photographers, and artists who have built Everyday social media narratives that delight, surprise, and inform as they confront stubborn misconceptions. They believe in developing visual literacy skills that can change the way we see the world.
The Everyday Projects work to achieve this through a variety of media and events, including the Everyday Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, and their websites, exhibitions, workshops, lesson plans, books, and festivals. They connect classrooms and communities from disparate parts of the globe and foster mutual acceptance.
Lessons:
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Photography as Storytelling
Part Three: Everyday Africa, Behind the Photos
Part Four: Shooting With Yagazie Emezi
Part Five: Shooting With Edward Echwalu
Part Six: Documenting Your Community
Part Seven: Connecting Schools
Part 1: Everyday Projects Education Introduction
Students are introduced to the Everyday Africa project and are tasked with considering their own perceptions of Africa and media-driven stereotypes.
0:00 Introduction to Everyday Africa and The Everyday Projects.
1:01 What word comes to mind when you think of Africa?
2:04 Discussion of African news stories / diversity and size of the continent.
3:16 Reporting on a news story: Peter DiCampo and Austin Merrill in Ivory Coast. Comparison of news photos to what became the first Everyday Africa photos.
10:16 Meet the Everyday Africa photographers and see their photos.
Part 2: Photography as Storytelling
Through the photographs of Everyday Africa, students learn how photography can be used to tell stories of daily life.
Part 3: Everyday Africa, Behind the Photos
Hear from Barry Christianson, Edward Echwalu, Yagazie Emezi, Tom Saater, Ricci Shryock, Ley Uwera, and Sam Vox as they describe photographs of everyday life that they made on assignment, in their community, or in their own homes.
Students should apply the visual literacy and storytelling lessons they've learned in the last two videos to the photographs they see here from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania.
0:37 Barry Christianson
1:30 Yagazie Emezi
2:40 Tom Saater
4:15 Sam Vox
5:17 Ley Uwera
6:41 Ricci Shryock
7:40 Edward Echwalu
Part 4: Shooting With Yagazie Emezi
Follow Nigerian photographer Yagazie Emezi as she explores a new city, Nairobi, guided by Kenyan photographer Mutua Matheka.
Yagazie focuses on street fashion in Nairobi's bustling Central Business District.
Students will get tips on approaching people with respect while asking for a photograph, how to put people at ease, and how to motivate yourself to get out and make pictures!
Part 5: Shooting With Edward Echwalu
Follow Ugandan photographer Edward Echwalu as he adds to his longterm project on road safety in Nairobi, Kenya.
Edward explains his motivations for the project and how he approaches a longterm project.
Part 6: Documenting Your Community
Learn about the spread of The Everyday Projects and the importance of local storytelling from four photographers:
Tasneem Alsultan / Everyday Middle East
Orlando Barria / Everyday Latin America + Everyday Dominican Republic
Khaula Jamil / Everyday Asia
Rhynna Santos / Everyday Bronx
0:00 Introduction to The Everyday Projects
2:20 Behind the Photos
6:16 Tips on Documenting Your Community
Part 7 : Connecting Schools
Learn about an educational workshop we held that connected high school students from Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Kenya and Nicholas Senn High School in Chicago, USA.
Students in both locations learned photography, shared it with each other, and even discussed their perceptions of each other. We hope this is a model for something you can do in your own classroom.
By Peter DiCampo and Nichole Sobecki.
Created in Partnership with PhotoWings, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and Cassandra Herrman.
For more:
everydayprojects.org
photowings.org/everyday