We’re going to try to feature as many FotoWeek participants as we can over the next few months, to tell you not only what they’re planning, but how their mission fits in the grander scheme of FW’s purpose.

Critical Exposure is a great example of an organization that fits in with FotoWeek’s philanthropic mission to reach out to local schools. A little about the group:

Critical Exposure teaches middle and high school students how to use photography to document issues impacting their lives and use the power of their images and their voices to advocate effectively for school reform and social change. Since our founding in 2004, Critical Exposure has worked with more than 450 students in D.C. and across the country. These students have helped to secure more than $400 million to improve public school facilities, supported campaigns to address youth homelessness and teen pregnancy, and are now working to address D.C.’s dropout crisis.

Kids involved in their programs learn a creative skill that has very practical uses. Particularly in a time when D.C’s schools are being overhauled, smart kids with first-hand insight can be powerful spokespeople and illicit much needed changes in their education.

Critical Exposure’s exhibit for FotoWeek, Picture Equality: An Evening of Empowerment through Photography, has two parts. The first is a display of professional photography, like that of Joyce Tenneson (also a judge for the FotoWeek contest), which will be auctioned off. The other part of the exhibit is, of course, images taken by the students. The proceeds from the exhibit goes “to support [their] efforts to teach inner-city youth how to use the power of photography and their own voices to address issues impacting their lives.”

We talked to Co-Director Adam Levner about Critical Exposure’s involvement with FotoWeek:

FotoWeek is a great opportunity for photographers, photography lovers, and potential photography lovers to come together to celebrate the many different ways of creating and using images. For Critical Exposure, FotoWeek is a chance to increase awareness of our efforts to teach youth about the power of photography to be a catalyst for change, to create stronger ties to the photography community, and to explore new ideas and potential partnerships in order to ensure that our students and their images have the greatest possible impact on their lives and their communities.

Critical Exposure’s gallery is located at 1816 12th Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20009. Read more about the organization at their web site.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under Participants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.