LCAP held a photo club which took place after school in the Powell Township school in Big Bay, Michigan. This club was centered around the idea of visually capturing the unique perceptions of living in a rural community in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan and was called ‘ Creating Community: A Portrait of the UP” LCAP provided a Michigan certified art teacher to conduct the project.
Students from 6th to 8th grade participated in the program which consisted of brainstorming visuals that represented what it meant to live in the UP and how to conceive of and frame a successful photograph. After working both with the teacher and independently students critiqued examples of photos taken to understand compositionally what makes a photograph both visually and conceptually interesting. Using both digital and conventional cameras students took a variety of photographs which were then selected to be in a exhibition which would be the final result of the class. Computer programs were made available for students to digitally alter their photographs if desired. Students then decided where the most appropriate place to hold the photo show should be and how it would marketed to get the most viewers. It was decided that the exhibition should take place in the lobby of a popular local hotel during the snowmobile season which attracts many tourists to the area. Notices of the exhibition were found in the school newsletter, local paper and on posters distributed in the area.
Creating community: A Portrait of the UP was made possible by a Target Community Grant.