The Coleman Center for the Arts

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New Outlooks Youth Billboards, Shana Berger, Nathan Purath, and the Coleman Center's Youth Photo Class

The Colmean Center is pleased to present a new project from the Public Artworks Program, New Outlooks Youth Billboards, by Shana Berger, Nathan Purath, and the Coleman Center's Youth Photo Class. These new billboards, displayed in York and Livingston, AL., feature the work of twelve photography students and their view of the community.

The Coleman Center’s class, taught by Directors Shana Berger and Nathan Purath, used point and shoot cameras, color film, and digital printing, and focused on composition and self-expression as the main tenants of the class. Activities included an introduction to the history of photography, building a camera obscura to understand fundamental photographic principles, self-portrait workshops, and ongoing group discussions and critiques of the student’s shooting assignments.

The final result of the class, an exhibition at the Coleman Center gallery and public art billboards that are displayed in York and Livingston, are the combined efforts of the Coleman Center’s Educational Program and the Public Artworks Program, which are working to revitalize the community through creativity.

Coleman Center Director Shana Berger says, “It is always a delight to work with children as artists. They see things differently than the rest of us do, and they have the ability to simplify things by looking at them very directly. Our main act is to create a space for their vision within the community, allowing the kids to partake in a new relationship with an aspect of mainstream culture by forming the message themselves.”

For more information please contact the Coleman Center for Arts and Culture at (205) 392-2005.