New Voices connects high school students to their communities through photography.

New Voices is a program for high school students that pairs them with community organizations to learn about and connect with important community issues. Students photograph the work of the agency and work side-by-side with members or guests of the agency to produce images and text which reflect the agency's identity in the community.

New Voices works with Sycamore, Wyoming, Princeton, Summit, Milford, Mariemont and SCPA.

New Voices has partnered with several community organizations including Drop Inn Center, Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, Elementz, St. Monica's Community Center, City Gospel Mission and the Metropole Apartments tenant association among others.

New Voices is generously supported by:

School and

Studio Programs

New Voices Spring, 2013

This Spring, New Voices produced three programs. First, Wyoming High School worked with Sarah Center to document the work of women who are learning artistic skills in order to become sefl-sustaining. The Sarah Center serves women in Over-the-Rhine. Students photographed studio activities, the surrounding neighborhood and created portraits of the artists. Sycamore High School worked with The Center for Holocaust Survivors which is run by Jewish Family Service. Students photographed with Holocaust Survivors and reflected on their role in Holocaust awareness. Summit Country Day students worked with Our Daily Bread to create portraits of guests who visit the hospitality agency. Portraits were shot and printed for guests in a single visit.

After School Programs

Prairie provides programming through after school programs such as Cincy After School and the Families and Children First Council. Participating schools include School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Rees E. Price Academy and Roberts Academy. In the Spring of 2013, SCPA students documented their neighborhood and made "panoramic portraits of their teachers and each other.

Also during the Winter of 2012, Roberts Paideia students created fashion designs and photo portfolios based on their study of English poetry. Their work was displayed at the school as well as the Cincinnati Public School Board of Education office.

Community Programs

Prairie produces photo education programs customized to meet the needs of individual organizations.

Prairie worked with Project Connect students at Bond Hill Elementary during the 2010/11 school year to create school planners which include their photographs of excursions to the Cincinnati Zoo with mentors from UC.

Prairie worked with students from Taylor Elementary to create a body of images related to nutrition and healthy eating habits during the 2011/2012 academic year.

Click here to see more Project Connect work.

Prairie works with Starfire members to teach basic photography through a variety of different projects. In the spring of 2013, Starfiore members participated in a nature photography program and entered photos in the Krohn Conservatory photo competition. In the winter of 2012, Starfire members documented several historic sites in Over-the-Rhine and showed their work in an exhibition at the reopening of the historic Emery Theatre. In the summer of 2011, Prairie works with Starfire members to document their own activities as seniors at Starfire U and create a group flickr page containing their work. In the fall of 2010, Starfire traveled to several different locations to create a body of photographs to use in a school calendar for the next academic year.

Click here to see more Starfire work.

Prairie collaborated with Lighthouse Community School in the Spring of 2010 introducing basic photography to students to create graphic novels by combining their images of the Madisonville area with fictional and autobiographical text. Prairie continued with Lighthouse in the Spring of 2011 to produce unique fashion designs and a body of fashion photography. During the spring of 2012, Lighthouse students produced a body of images documenting musical performances staged at the school along with formal portraits of musicians. During the Winter and Spring of 2013, Lighthouse students will create short videos which describe the urban agriculture program underway at the school.

Click here to see more Lighthouse work.

Day by Day Calendar by Streetvibes Distributors

Prairie collaborates with Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless to produce an annual calendar called Day by Day which includes photographs and text by distributors of Streetvibes and other currently homeless individuals. The unique points of view presented in this calendar are sold by Streetvibes vendors beginning in late Fall.

Click here to see more work by Streetvibes distributors.

 

Calendar for Civic Garden Center

Prairie collaborated with Civic Garden Center to produce a 2012 calendar which documents several of their community gardens in the Cincinnati's urban center. All photographs were taken by students who gathered to learn various photo techniques before traveling as a group out to the community gardents to photograph. Prairie handled all design and production tasks for the calendar in addition to running the photography element of the project.