Engagement

with PhotoVoice

In collaboration with PhotoVoice , we conducted three photography workshops for residents of Cohen Lodge, an Anchor Housing facility in ClaptonHackney Circle’s Art Against Isolation.

A print using the gyotaku technique.

Our ongoing partnership with Cohen Lodge focuses on engaging older residents in creative activities to enhance their well-being. We partnered with PhotoVoice, an organisation that utilises photography as a participatory process, to deliver a program empowering participants to express their identities through photographic storytelling techniques.

Cards used to show existing photography.

During the first workshop, participants received cameras, often for the first time in many years. To alleviate any apprehension, we provided prompts to help them overcome the initial hurdle of deciding what to photograph. These prompts ranged from capturing specific colors, like green, to identifying particular shapes, such as circles. This exercise encouraged residents to explore their everyday environment with a fresh perspective, observing the objects and features surrounding them in greater detail.

Little Joe critiquing a photograph that caught his eye.

With newfound confidence in handling cameras, the residents ventured out of Cohen Lodge and into Hackney during the second week. This excursion aimed to foster a sense of assurance, encouraging participants to re-engage with their wider community. Such engagement not only increases the likelihood of them accessing beneficial external services but also strengthens social cohesion within the Borough of Hackney. Back at Cohen Lodge, we examined a collection of existing photographs to help participants develop a critical eye, enabling them to form their own opinions on what constitutes a successful image and apply this knowledge to their own photography. In the final week, participants continued taking photographs before moving on to an editing phase. They selected their best images for printing and learned how to add captions to provide further context or intrigue.

This project was commisioned directly by Hackney Circle.