Miami University

Photography students to mentor Union County students

Miami seniors in a photography class taught by associate professor of art Jon Yamashiro will work with Union County teenagers to document life in Liberty, Ind.

The project, “Portrait of Liberty: Life in a Small Indiana Town,” aims to help the teens learn photography and then edit, process, print, choose and prepare images for an exhibit during a holiday festival in Liberty on Dec. 4. A Web site will also be produced.

Ann Tobin, teen coordinator at the Union County Public Library, will facilitate the project and meetings at the library between the Miami students and teens.

“Each Miami student will be teamed with a few Union County High School students and they will work together on photographing the Liberty community,” says Yamashiro. “They are really looking forward to this 'real life' experience and are ready for the challenge.”

Tobin obtained funding for the project from the Union County Foundation, Skip Thompson, Arts Place Inc., the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The project kicked off on Sept. 10, when more than 200 Liberty residents gathered in front of the courthouse for a town portrait.

Date Published: 09/22/2005
Volume: 25   Number: 8