Education/Inspiration
Vision Workshops--The World from their Perspective
By the Editors of Double Exposure
May 1, 2008

© Aslan Shakarov, Baltimore Photo Camp 2007

Vision Workshops is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching photography to youth from underserved communities in the U.S. and around the world. These workshops inspire underprivileged youth with positive role models and with opportunities to display their photos and writing at galleries including the International Center for Photography in New York, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, and the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington D.C., as well as on the organization’s website. The program is free to students, which is made possible via donations from the community and corporate sponsors. We spoke to the Executive Director, Kirsten Elstner, who founded this workshop program.


“We started our nonprofit corporation in 2001,” says Kirsten. “I was a free-lance photographer who worked mostly for the New York Times, and made the decision to jump from being a photojournalist to giving this a try.” During her career, she had photographed numerous people from low-income communities and at organizations like the International Red Cross. “I was always documenting people and didn’t really know anything about their lives,” she says. “One day I had the idea to put the camera in the hands of those who were being documented. I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be interesting to see things from their perspective?’” As time went on, she became interested in working with young people—most of the students at Vision Workshops are middle school or high school ages (although they have recently worked with 5th graders from the Annapolis Maritime Museum). Kirsten realized what a valuable tool the camera could be in giving young people a voice in describing their life through photography. “Photography is a great mentoring tool. Kids just open up, especially when they take pictures of themselves and their families. It’s a great way for them to describe life in their communities,” she remarks.

© Gabriela Romero, Crossing Borders 2008

Putting Pen to Paper
Vision Workshops decided that in addition to photography, writing should be part of the process as well. “The idea behind this initially was that we were working with kids who were not strong students or good writers,” Kirsten explains. “A lot of our programs are for ESL (English as a Second Language) kids.” Some of them have recently immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, El Salvador and other countries with their families. “We realized that we have a great program because it’s visual. It didn’t matter that they don’t speak English because everyone can make a picture—it’s one of the most democratic of art forms.” In coordination with the kids’ ESL teachers, Vision Workshops decided to have the kids write about their photographs, using the image as a catalyst for their writing.

In the beginning, the children might write something in Spanish, for example, and the workshop personnel would translate. “A lot of times, we would ask kids to photograph their family members,” Kirsten says, “and give them a project like ‘what do you suppose this person is thinking right now?’ We’ve gotten some beautiful expressions of admiration for their parents that might not come out on a daily basis from a middle-school student.” These written statements from the workshop students appear on the organization’s website in the gallery pages, as well as being displayed on gallery walls where their photographs are being shown. At the workshop, the kids can also make prints in a darkroom, “which is a skill that their peers usually don’t have,” she points out.

The students are assigned various projects on a regular basis. “One of these assignments is to photograph someone they admire,” Kirsten says, “and then to write a letter to that person.” She says that this combination of photography and writing has proven to be a great therapeutic tool. For example, last year a man came to the gallery who was taking care of his nephew in a Drug Court program. “The uncle was reading this letter that the child wrote to him (‘write a letter to someone you admire’), and it was a portrait of him.” He was standing there weeping and said, “I had no idea that this kid admired me. We had such a difficult time trying to get him through the program, and he had gotten mixed up with drugs. For me to see this is absolutely incredible.”

© Mitzi Ruiz Zavala, Oaxaca Photo Camp 2007

Regional & International Programs
Vision Workshops’ regional program is based in Annapolis, Maryland. “I really like to work with kids from my own back yard,” says Kirsten. “But we’re also building it to spread out to Baltimore and Washington D.C.” On the regional level, she goes to the ESL programs in her community and the juvenile drug court to find students. “I always work with a liaison within that organization, guidance counselors at the schools, or drug court personnel, so they know the students and their families,” she states. Kirsten teaches most of these workshops, and has recently hired a program director. “She and I—along with contract teachers and volunteers—are running the regional programs,” she comments. Some of these contract teachers include a photojournalist from the local newspaper, The Annapolis Capitol, and the program director, who came to them from The Washington Post’s photography website.

National Geographic is an important client and supporter of Vision Workshops, and the organization puts on eight domestic and two international photo camps per year, says Kirsten. They work with partners in different cities, such as the International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York, who helps to recruit students through their programs. In the Photo Camp program, they work with Geographic editors, and photographers such as Jay Dickman, Sam Abell and Ed Kashi. The workshops also team up with technical directors from Geographic’s digital media department. “So we’ve got quite a staff,” Kirsten remarks. Additionally, they look for five college students in photography in each city, who serve as teaching assistants at each location. In New York, they get ICP students, in Florida, they get students from the University of Miami, and in New Orleans, they get students from Loyola University. For these photography students, this assisting position often serves as an internship. “Young photographers enjoy giving back,” she says. “And this opportunity allows them to do that.”

The regional programs last for a semester, according to Kirsten, and can be six to 15 weeks in length in the afternoon after school. The Photo Camps, on the other hand, are four- to six-day intensive workshops.  

© Shani, Juvenile Treatment Court 2007

As for funding, the workshop program relies heavily on donations. “This is a challenge every single day,” Kirsten says. The National Geographic program is funded through Mission Programs, a division of Geographic, which internally funds the Photo Camp program. Other benefactors are the city of Annapolis, Target Corporation, various foundations, and in-kind donations from Nikon (who donate cameras for the regional programs), Olympus America Inc., (who donate cameras for Photo Camp), and PNY (who provide memory cards).

In the Future
“We’re getting ready to launch our 2008 Photo Camp program, which begins in May,” she says. These workshops will take place in very interesting locations, and is based on the theme of “Nature, Environment, Conservation. Youth Perspectives on their generation’s connection to the natural world.” These photography workshops will focus on the students’ connection with nature and the environment, according to Kirsten. “Some of the students will be Native American youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. There will be a large population of students for this one.” In addition to the Pine Ridge Reservation, the other domestic camps will take place in New York, New York; Santa Monica, California; Chesapeake Bay; Appalachian Trail; Taos, New Mexico; Camden, Maine; and Miami, Florida. The international Photo Camp locations will be in France and Costa Rica. The workshops are also developing a semester-long curriculum that the kids can continue working on. 

Vision Workshops has a far-reaching effect beyond just the youngsters who attend. It’s also wonderful for the families and the communities to see the images the kids produce, as well as the thought and feelings behind them. And there’s no doubt that this exposure to creativity has turned some young lives around for the better.

To learn more about Vision Workshops and their programs, visit www.visionworkshops.org.


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