Pinhole Photography

Look & Inspire

Pinhole Photography in Sunderland

Our exhibition of the work will be on show in Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens in the Open Gallery Space from 7th November 2015 until 24th January 2016. Please come along to support local community arts projects. Click here for more information.

Photograph from pinhole workshop
Project formulated by Jo Howell andThe Art Studio Sunderland

Look and Inspire is a creative social project designed to inspire communities, people with mental illnesses, or disadvantaged people in Sunderland to respond to where they live in a visual way.

Above: Cameras made out of recycled materials
Below: Making the cameras

In artist lead workshops they learned to build their own camera out of recycled materials, and then used the cameras they had built to photograph areas of interest where they live. 

Prints drying in the studio

Workshop in The Caravan Gallery

The Pin hole project encourages participants to walk around the local area and to see it in a new way. The participants then process their own images using traditional darkroom techniques.

The project will culminate with an exhibition of the work created in Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens in November 2015. 

We had a great turn out for all of the workshops, with many people enjoying the project so much that they came back for another go!

• Our oldest participant was 93 and our youngest was 3 years old.
  
• Both men and women attended with a ratio of approximately 3:1 (three males for every
  one female).
  
• The majority in attendance had or have suffered from mental illness. 
  
• We also had several participants who were wheelchair users.
• Though the majority of participants were caucasian of White British descent we also
  had 3 participants of Indian descent.
  
• Some Art Studio Members opted to bring their family and friends along to our public
  workshops. 

Workshop in Back on the Map Hendon

What impact did the project have

1. Two members of staff are now trained in walking and have used their training a lot throughout the project. We can use this training for future projects.
   
2. Participants have learned new skills in Photography, Science, Making and working together.
   
3. Each session resulted in many photographs, and participants were encouraged to walk around Sunderland to collect images. Improving their mental and physical health through walking.
   
4. There was a great social aspect to the project, allowing people who wouldn’t usually associate to work together towards a common aim.
   
5. Members confidence and skills have grown, resulting in many members going outside of their comfort zone to help assist the workshop leader. 
   

To display the work we have created a live exhibition, an online exhibition, videos and an exhibition book.

Follow these links if you would like any more information on the above.

Look & Inspire book

Local Press

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