The Imagine mosaic serves as an inspiration to those of us in The Mosaic Project.
Charged with an enrichment project as a first year teacher in which students were expected to become “experts” in a given subject, I turned to one of my greatest passions – photography.
My students creatively photographed their experiences as members of their ethnic culture as well as members of their community. As we printed their magnificent and inspirational photographs and began to ponder the best way to display them, a colleague came in to have a look. She was looking at one of our possible layouts and remarked, “This is just like a mosaic.”
And it was. Apart, each picture stood up as a testament to the photographer’s hard work and a certain beauty. Together, though, they formed a mosaic of who we were – as photographers, as a diverse group, and as inhabitants of the neighborhood. I loved the term from the start, and it stuck. Today, The Mosaic Project has evolved into its third year, as a new wave of students aims to find ways to capture images that convey their perception of their neighborhood.
Professionally, my experience with The Mosaic Project has been wonderful, and I count it as one of the highlights of my young career. The reception we have received has been overwhelming.
It provides the students an opportunity that, since they come from high-poverty homes, they might not otherwise have. I am proud to be able to facilitate this for them.
You may view students’ works on our Flickr page, which is here.
Thanks for stopping by.
From the Desk of Mr. Foteah 
What a beautiful and creative way to teach children respect for their culture, neighborhood and themselves. It’s amazing to see how the children used the eye of a camara to share their experiences. Keep up the great work. We need more creativity in education.
hey there…
found you through your post on “13 things to teach kids photography” or something like that… I’m a professional photographer (weddings/portraits) who will be teaching an enrichment program next year to 5-8th graders. i’d love to chat with you about ideas that have worked/failed with your students. my student body is an all boys/private school in NJ. i was thining about taking a “critical viewer” point of view… looking at advertisements, trying to figure out what works, that sort of stuff (what I learned in art school!!). did you do that sort of teaching? best, tasha
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Hi. I also found you through the “13 things” article. I have just taken on being the leader for my local 4-H Club’s Photography Project, working with a dozen young people to enhance their photography skills. I’d also love to chat about ideas that work – or don’t.
I took the kids on a fall photo walk in the woods a couple of weeks ago and a couple of them came back with some amazingly creative images, so I know there’s more to come.
Thanks,
Ceci