BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, USA
100CAMERAS X SUNSET PARK HIGH SCHOOL
100cameras X Sunset Park is a part of an 8 class course that is custom designed by 100cameras to equip passionate creatives with the tools to empower youth in a community they care about with the opportunity to learn how to process their stories and create change. Pictured here are 100cameras students during the course.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
100cameras X Sunset Park took place during the winter of 2021 in Brooklyn, New York USA. In partnership with Sunset Park High School (SPHS), a diverse and inclusive school that prepares all students for college and for meeting the challenging demands of a changing world. SPHS is dedicated to growing future leaders and is committed to success for all students through establishing small learning communities that are centered around visual & performing Arts, business & entrepreneurship, and health & human services. At SPHS, all students are engaged as critical and creative thinkers, equipping them to make informed decisions and make a difference in our changing world.
As expressed by the school Principal, Victoria Antonini, “We are a place and space that is the result of nearly 40 years of advocacy in the community for a school that serves all students in an equitable and inclusive environment. We strongly believe in people power: the power of community, the power of families, the power of faculty and staff, and, most importantly, the power of students. Our goal is to prepare all students for productive and satisfying lives after high school…We know their contributions are not only valued and respected but very much needed. Our students know we care about them and we know they care about us through our culture of mutual respect.”
“Photography is a rewarding outlet for creative expression, but it is also a way to make others aware of the reality people face: an outlet for others to see their truth and experience as they live through the aftermath of history. While these are difficult times in an often-times difficult place, these are also conditions within which relevant and timely art is made. ”
Located in Sunset Park, a rapidly gentrifying area that was declared a sanctuary district in 2017, the neighborhood is the site of many immigration rights protests. Currently the area is in the midst of a conflict over neighborhood rezoning that would affect the cost of living for many students and could possibly even displace many of our students.
“I believe that by partnering with 100cameras we will be able to tell the stories of these students and their lived reality of joy and struggle due to immigration status, poverty and the uncertainty that living in the epicenter of a global pandemic brings,” reflects Adalena Kavanagh, Librarian, Sunset Park High School + Program Leader.
MEET THE STUDENTS
“It was rewarding to see a student who is quiet able to express themselves visually with their photography. It made me excited for the students, knowing that as they grow as photographers they now have the tools to explore their own stories and express themselves visually, through photography.”
ABOUT THE PROGRAM LEADER
Adalena Kavanagh is a librarian, photography teacher, and writer in Brooklyn. She has taught for more than 15 years, and has published fiction and writing on photography. In addition to being a librarian and English teacher, Adalena has a background in photography, having taught and exhibited digital, and film photography, most notably at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. “I learned a lot and I'm proud to have joined the 100cameras family and give my students a chance to share their work with the global network of 100cameras communities,” she reflected.
STUDENT IMAGE GALLERY
“When we saw the geese in Green Wood cemetery, the students were happily surprised to see nature up close. And I saw them reacting like kids, and it was a joyful moment for all of us.”
Follow us on social media to see images from the field as captured by the 100cameras X Sunset Park team and the student photographers.