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January 6, 2009 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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OJOS Nuevos |
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OJOS nuevos was implemented at two different homes for girls in Santiago de Chile on behalf of photographer’s Lindy Drew and Christine Mladic. Lindy’s program was sponsored by PENTAX and TakeGreatPictures.com. Christine’s program took off from private donors and the help of the non-profit organization VE Global. After they finished teaching their classes at Hogar Nuestra Señora de la Paz and Hogar Aldea María Reina, respectively, the instructors noticed incredible similarities in the girls work although both groups had never met nor photographed together. They decided to produce a joint show to congratulate the kids with a proper grand finale to a job well done and share their artwork with the Chilean community.  Christy & Lindy – OJOS nuevos Instructos Christine Mladic and Lindy Drew. © 2007 MC Fredes. During the editing process, the photographs the kids took became even more alive by playing off each other with shots of hands, graffiti, self-portraits, shadows, silhouettes, repetition, pictures of people on the street, and hogar life. Behind the scenes, the instructors worked overtime sizing, writing, printing, pasting, and passing out flyers promoting the event. The show was hung 2 hours before the opening night, but not without hesitation as to if everything would really be done in time for all the people that were invited! Luckily, the empanadas and soft drinks were a hit and music set the tone with some of the kids’ favorite latin songs from Shakira, Mana, and Chancho and Piedra.  Kati & Judith – Katiuska and the director of Hogar Nuestra Señora de la Paz, Maria Judith Ubedja. © 2007 MC Fredes.  Tami&Agatha – “What should I write?” Tami and Agatha wonder as they are asked to sign their autographs. © 2007 MC Fredes. The participants were so proud of themselves. They stared, pointed, and even walked right up and touched the photos, naming whose picture was whose, remembering when and where they had been taken. They bounced around between finding their own photographs on display and signing autographs for people who purchased their prints. One photo was selected from each girl and instructor and blown up to a 5x7 with the photographer’s name and date as captions in the corner. Some girls didn’t believe that anybody would actually buy their work, but when the night ended, they had collectively made $80. The proceeds were split evenly between each hogar so that the participants could either print more of their own photographs for themselves or for the hogars’ walls.  To end the night, the girls were congratulated and each was asked to sign the self-portrait board. They were given a diploma and a handmade frame with a collage of portraits of themselves as a memory of their experience participating in OJOS nuevos.  As for the future of OJOS nuevos, the volunteer program VE Global would like to continue teaching photography to the kids that the volunteers work with. In order to do that, they need volunteer photographers interested in carrying out the workshop in other hogares, schools, and community centers in Santiago. Now that Lindy and Christy have finished their volunteer outreach projects in Chile, they will continue to travel through South America doing their own documentary photography with the hope of bringing OJOS nuevos to other countries, too.       Thank you to the following sponsors that made OJOS nuevos and the exhibition possible: PENTAX, TakeGreatPictures.com, VE Global, Instituto ARCOS, Club Color, Maricarmen Fredes, Luke Bakke and Michelle Dady, and Max & Sara Drew.
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© 2002 - 2009 Take Great Pictures |
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