Minnesota Photography Students Document the Recovery Efforts in New Orleans

Sept. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- – In March 2008, The Art Institutes International Minnesota’s Photography program began a semi-annual course offering documentary photography in a travel and study format in New Orleans, Louisiana. In September 2010, The Art Institutes International Minnesota will take five photography and five film students to New Orleans as part of the program’s fourth trip to the city.

Public presentations and exhibitions are an integral component of the students’ advocacy efforts. Last year, Photography students addressed a public audience of over 75 people at the Central Branch of the Hennepin County Public Library.  In December 2010, the students will again exhibit their work at the Hennepin County Library Dunn Brothers. But this year, in a new partnership, students will deliver presentations to the public on their projects at the Mpls Photo Center, located at 2400 North Second Street in Minneapolis, on Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 5:30pm.  The event is open to the public at no charge.

This year’s exhibition will focus on the children who have grown up in a post-Katrina world, a week in the life of a seafood restaurant after the BP oil spill, public art, Muslim culture in Greater New Orleans, and poetic examinations of the city through its deep roots in music and the arts—among many others. As part of their coursework, the students keep blogs that chronicle their expectations, perceptions and growth throughout this experience. Links to the students’ blogs and additional information on the course can be found on the class blog at: http://aimneworleans.blogspot.com/.

Ryan McGoff, former participant of the New Orleans Travel Program for the fall 2008 and summer 2009 trips photographed the remaining FEMA trailers and the people who inhabited them said, “Hearing their stories was absolutely incredible and really gave me such an alternative view of the storm, which I would have never gotten otherwise. I feel like I understand why Hurricane Katrina was so culturally significant now as a result of meeting these people.”

The basis of this class is to instill a sense of community involvement and awareness in the students as they learn that photography and filmmaking can evoke great change and to give back to the residents of New Orleans, serving as advocates for the community, and learning to evoke change through their efforts as artists.  Additionally, the students continue to examine the concept of ethical practice in the field of photojournalism.

Founded in 1964 as Lowthian College, The Art Institutes International Minnesota is a diverse, dynamic institution of higher education whose goal is to educate students for creative careers. The Art Institutes International Minnesota is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 45 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.  The website for The Art Institutes International Minnesota can be found at www.artinstitutes.edu/minneapolis.

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Located in downtown Minneapolis (MN), The Art Institutes International Minnesota is a regional leader in design, media arts, creative management, and culinary arts education.