Tag Archive for: photography

camden

Markets, locks and hills

For the final photography session of this series of workshops the Accumul8 group visited Camden, exploring the markets, walking beside the canal and ending up at the top of Parliament Hill. This was the first year that Accumul8 has worked with three hostels and over such a long period of time (this week was the 20th session). It has been an incredible journey of learning and skills development. But more amazing is to watch the participants becoming more confident with themselves, with newly found self-esteem and a sense of well-being, that goes far beyond the actual activity. This will, hopefully, help them to make their own positive life decisions. It’s been a blast!

Pic below: students, residents and workshop leaders having fun

Ravensbourne students, Accumul8 participants and workshop leaders having fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accumul8 and Birdsong London at London Fashion Week

When Accumul8 did the London Fashion Week project, Birdsong London came along too to talk to the group about their own social enterprise.

Birdsong is a project which sells fashion products made by women’s groups which actively work to improve women’s lives. The meeting of the two groups was also a way to introduce the issues surrounding women, fashion, identity and empowerment.

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The talk went down a storm, and the group were so interested in what founder Ruba Huleihel had to say, that they asked her to stay on and carry on talking after the photography workshop was finished. Check out their blog about Accumul8. Thanks to Ruba of Birdsong for being so brilliant and inspiring!!

 

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Photography workshops and London Fashion Week

So it’s now March 2016, and we are half way through delivering the series of photography workshops to young homeless people living in hostels across London.

Three hostels are involved: the North London YMCA Hostel, the East London YMCA Hostel and the group of Evolve hostels in south London.

Networking between Ravensbourne photography students and hostel residents

Networking between Ravensbourne photography students and hostel residents

Feeling the benefits

Working with multiple hostels has been a really positive experience, with friendships and links being formed between the hostel residents and also between them and the student helpers. Connecting the students and residents has been a hugely positive result, they are two groups of young people who wouldn’t have met otherwise. Barriers have been broken down and new connections have been made.

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of cool dudes, street photo taken by Dan Fifield, resident at Evolve Hostel.

A couple of cool dudes, street photo taken by Dan Fifield, resident at Evolve Hostel.

A new week, a new topic…

Every week on the project we have tackled a different subject matter as a theme for the photography workshop, including portraits, street photography, performance and identity.

Getting out and about

We have run a workshop with the Barbican to tie into their upcoming “Strange and Familiar” exhibition and also have used the experience of visiting Tate Museum and seeing the “Performing for the Camera” show as inspiration for more creative photography and image making.

A highlight, so far, has been the London Fashion Week workshop. This started with a talk about the impact of fashion blogs, how to set up in the industry from young, fashion designer Lamula Nassuna. There was also a talk by Ruba Harounni (who runs social enterprise Birdsong London) about how fashion can empower individuals.

 

Isaac, in the grey sweatsuit, taking a photo of Tinie Tempeh at London Fashion Week which featured in Vogue.

Isaac, in the grey sweatsuit, taking a photo of Tinie Tempeh at London Fashion Week which featured in Vogue.

Our intrepid fledgling photographers then went on to take photographs all around the LFW headquarters on Brewer Street. They enjoyed observing all the flamboyant individuals and even got the chance to snap rap star and singer Tinie Tempah! This got Isaac, from East London YMCA Hostel, into Vogue. Check out that retweet here

Black is back at London Fashion Week

Black is back at London Fashion Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red and White at London Fashion Week

Red and White at London Fashion Week

Shady at London Fashion Week

Shady at London Fashion Week

The Accumul8 Exhibition

Today, 14th June, is the last day of the Accumul8 exhibition at Hornsey Town Hall. It has been an incredible journey, from being filmed for London Tonight, selling Accumul8 photographs, jam and greeting cards and having so much positive interest, enthusiasm and encouragement from the visitors to the show.

Estimates are that over 1,400 people have visited the exhibition over the four days that we have been open. Most importantly is the rewarding experience and personal achievement it has been for the Accumul8 participants: young people who are homeless and living in the YMCA hostel in Crouch End. To have people admire their work, purchase it for their homes and want to talk to them about their photographs is something that was not in their mindset when we started the Accumul8 photography project in February this year and which has shown the Accumul8 group that they are valued and have value to themselves and other people. The goal of Accumul8 is to use creativity to give confidence and help people move to a better place in their lives. I hope we have shown that this is achievable.

Here are some photographs that Steve Franck took at the private view of the Accumul8 exhibition.

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Accumul8 gets featured in The Guardian!

Sometimes really good things happen with Accumul8, and getting featured in The Guardian is a fantastic achievement. The Guardian focused on the story of Accumul8 and how the students at Ravensbourne are learning and developing skills from teaching the YMCA residents about photography skills as well as developing an understanding of the project.

One of the goals when I set up Accumul8 was about creating multiple benefits and beneficiaries through collaboration, this feature by Natalie Gil of The Guardian really sums this up. Thank you, Natalie, for a great article!

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Teaching homeless people gives photography students a new perspective
When university students take on the task of teaching hostel residents to take pictures, both groups are stretched to their limits
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Sam Adesanyan, a resident at the north London YMCA, takes part in a photography workshop. Photograph: Stuart Moore

“I live with my parents in a three-bedroom house in a nice area, so compared to what these guys have been through, I’m a freakin’ princess,” says Robyn Slator, 21, a digital photography student who spent much of last year teaching homeless people to take pictures.

For fellow student Sam Goodridge, 20, one of the current teachers, it’s been eye-opening. “I come from Surrey where it’s mainly middle class white people, so it’s nice to see what the other half get up to, and make friends.”

They’re part of a project where university students have been sharing their creative skills with homeless men living in a YMCA hostel in north London. The hostel residents, who are also benefitting from the involvement of a professional photographer, say they are discovering their own creativity and developing job skills.

“Initially, I liked that it got me involved in something outside the YMCA,” says Stuart Moore (not his real name), 31, a hostel resident and workshop participant.

“But having taken part for a number for weeks now, I’ve enjoyed learning more about photography and the technical aspects of the camera itself. And it’s been good to get to know my fellow residents a little better.”

Liam Gayle, 29, another resident, says it’s encouraged him to socialise with people he otherwise might not have spoken to. “That’s not against their personalities, who they are or where they’re from… but by throwing you out of your comfort zone this helps you make new friends.”

And a third participant, Taurean Jordan, 29, adds: “I’ve learned that anyone can do anything – photography is something I never thought I’d take up.”

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The residents on a visit to Ravensbourne

Their “teachers” are students from Ravensbourne, an arts university in south-east London. For them, the project has been a huge boost to their communication, leadership and management skills.

Sanchez Palmer, 23, had never taught before, but this experience has persuaded him to go into education. Since graduating from Ravensbourne with a digital photography degree, he has got a job as a teaching assistant at a secondary school.

“I learned that it’s not always going to be as perfect as you want it to be,” says Palmer. “One week there’d be 10 people and another week there’d be two, but as long as I put all of me into it, it was fine.”

Palmer learned a lot from the residents: “Their stories affected the pictures they took. It’s weird, but you’d see pain in a picture and when you’d ask them to explain it, your eyes opened to new perspectives.” Sometimes, they’d ask to change photos into black and white to highlight emotion.

Slator, who also wants to become a teacher, says her only previous experience was with her local Brownie group. She says it was daunting at first having authority over an older, mostly male group from vastly different backgrounds.

“But once you get to know everyone, you become more comfortable. I came here on the first week with my posh voice, but that changed over the time.”

The project was organised by a social enterprise called Accumul8, founded by Marice Cumber, subject leader for enterprise and entrepreneurship at Ravensbourne, which specialises in digital media and design.

“This isn’t the easiest group of people to deal with,” says Cumber, “and education isn’t an easy ride, so it teaches you about passing on knowledge at a level that’s appropriate to your audience.”

The project’s goal was to showcase residents’ photographs at the Crouch End Festival. But to do that, they needed money. So they raised it by making and selling jams and chutneys – “preserves with a purpose” – from windfall fruit donated by the community.

The exhibition was a success, with prints selling for £45 – some multiple times – which worked wonders for the residents’ self-esteem.

“People wanted to talk to the photographers – so a group of people who’d previously been at the bottom of the pile in the community became celebrities for an evening,” says Cumber. “There was a positive vibe and more optimistic language being used.”

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North London YMCA residents at their photography exhibition in June 2014
The link with Ravensbourne is crucial in raising residents’ aspirations, says Cumber, and the hostel-dwellers who complete this year’s workshops will get a level two award in photography.

“It’s a big step up from where they are now – and visiting the college shows them that education is a possible goal to work towards,” she says.

Ravensbourne pays the student teachers and lends the necessary equipment. James Ward, subject leader for further education, says: “Ravensbourne has a broad outreach department where we look to work with hard-to-reach communities to get them to consider higher education.

“I’d hope that, in the long term, a couple of the homeless students will make it on to one of our access to HE diplomas, which act as a bridge into higher education.”

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The group sold jams and chutneys to make the money needed to exhibit residents’ photographs at the Crouch End Festival

Sean Ashley, 35, a support housing officer at the YMCA and former resident, took part in last year’s workshops, and says they set him up well for future employment. He found the jam business particularly interesting.

“It’s shown me how businesses and organisations are structured, the ins and outs of blogging, setting up businesses, licensing, which we had to deal with when selling the chutneys, and marketing. I’d never done these things before,” says Ashley.

More students should get involved with projects like this, says Slator: “At uni you gain knowledge to prepare you for the future, but it’s good to share it. And from a selfish point of view, it looks amazing on my CV that I taught people photography skills at a YMCA.”

The high point for everyone was the show they put on. “The residents had only been doing it a few months and had a whole exhibition to themselves, whereas I’ve been doing it for four years now and I’ve still had nothing,” she laughs. “They’ve overtaken me now, but I’m proud of them.”

The music studio at the hostel

The North London YMCA hostel have converted a space into a “creative hub”.  This is a self-contained flat which the residents have named The Penthouse as it’s on the top floor. In this space, creative activities take place such as drawing, cooking, baking and the Glamz beauty and make-up project.

They have also converted one room into a music studio. This became the setting for the Accumul8 workshop on music photography. This workshop had a really energetic and positively charged atmosphere, it was, as the saying goes, buzzing! Numerous residents came to play, sing, rap and perform their own work and the Accumul8 photographers recorded it all.

It is incredibly motivating to see the group’s confidence and communication levels rise, through instructing the musicians on how to pose, sharing and discussing their photos and talking about the experience. Even more so, as a journalist from a national paper was there to interview them, but more about that when it gets published…..

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The Voice, Ravensbourne and an Exhibition update

We are now on the final part of the journey from Accumul8 chutneys and jams to an exhibition of photographs, and it has been a real learning journey. That journey is one of transition, not just that of the Accumul8 group, but also for myself. The Accumul8 project has to be one of the most rewarding learning experiences that I have had in 15 years of an education based career. I have learnt about humbleness, expectations, values, trust and respect. Sometimes the learning has been hard and I have had to learn to just accept that sometimes, a little is enough and to be satisfied. Something that rubs up against privilege and ambition and middle class drive. Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener, it is green enough and we can all sit on it and share and just enjoy it.

So, as we end this part of the journey there have been a few more wonderful highlights that I wanted to share. Accumul8 got a wonderful full page write up in The Voice (thanks to the wonderful Emma Carboni). All during the week, Emma has been emailing me with updates on the Accumul8 “raising awareness” campaign. And then I got an email which said “Full bloody page in The Voice” and you could feel the excitement overload buzzing over the internet!

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On Wednesday this week, was the visit to Ravensbourne, the college where I work. Ravensbourne have been brilliantly supportive of Accumul8, they have paid for the student helpers (lovely Robyn and Sanchez), are paying for the printing of the photographs for the exhibition and have loaned us all the equipment and cameras for the workshops. It’s a small, specialist college and they are, indeed, very, very special to Accumul8! (We just couldn’t have done the photography project without them).

The Accumul8 group had a tour round the building, a talk about all the different courses on offer at Ravensbourne and then we got down to selecting the final 80 prints for the exhibition, this is from a total of 1100 photographs that the Accumul8 group has taken over the past four months (not an easy task!). The countdown to the big show is beginning, it all feels very real and ever so slightly scary!.

The Accumul8 exhibition is less than two weeks away, and this weekend we are starting to frame up the images. All of a sudden, from viewing the images on a laptop, we are now seeing the finished photographs, in frames, ready to exhibit. We have already sold some of the work. I am, of course, hoping to sell alot more.

This blog is ending with a photo of the Accumul8 group after the visit and outside the iconic Ravensbourne building. It’s been a long, learning journey from making chutneys and jams in tiny church kitchen to a prestigious photography exhibition at The Couch End Festival. I’ve truly loved every minute of it.

 

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