Thru the Lens: Palm Island youth photography project
Lakeisha Ryan | Trolley on beach 2009 | Courtesy: Bwgcolman Future Inc, Palm Island
Karen Walsh | Australia | Bwgcolman people | Keisha in the car 2009 | Digital print | Courtesy: Bwgcolman Future Inc., Palm Island
Lakeisha Ryan
Trolley on beach 2009
Courtesy: Bwgcolman Future Inc, Palm Island
Thru the Lens: Palm Island Youth Photography Project
4 July – 9 August 2009 Foyer, GoMA
In 2007, local non-government organisation Bwgcolman Future Inc ran a filmmaking and photographic workshop for Palm Island youths, facilitated by photographer Peta O’Neill. Thirty-five aspiring photographers learnt about the camera, composition, light, different styles of photography, Photoshop, printing, presentation and display techniques, and throughout the week immersed themselves in their new craft, making over 1000 images.
These Palm Island photographs capture many subjects and themes, including celebrations of people and places, everyday activities, and the ‘not-so-good stuff’. The photographers were so busy throughout the week that they earned themselves the nickname 'paparazzi'.
The Gallery of Modern Art is proud to support this exhibition during National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week, from 5 to 12 July 2009, following last year’s ‘Gallery of Murri Art’ painting workshops and exhibition by students from West End Primary School. The presentation of this exhibition in Brisbane will allow city audiences an intimate insight into this much-publicised community, a chance to hear their voices and see Palm Island through the eyes of those who call it home.
Presented by the Queensland Art Gallery in association with the Catherine Freeman Foundation, Bwgcolman Future Inc. and Department of Communities.
