Contact Nancy to discuss your project ideas

E-mail:  ngh@hortonphoto.com
Phone:  603-431-5923		  
     
     
     
 


Nancy Grace Horton's Learning to See programs are community participatory projects that simultaneously teach the art of photography and document local events, traditions, and neighborhoods. Learning To See programs take place over several days, include from a dozen to hundreds of students, and involve participants in learning new skills, exploring their environments, and appreciating their culture. During the programs, individual participants gain new artistic skills as they learn to look at their world through the lens of a camera. When viewed as a whole, the combined images become a photographic record of a community's environment and culture that is discussed by the participants and displayed to the public in exhibits and books. Learning to See projects have been conducted since 2001 both locally, ( Spotlight -Capturing Sights of Interest/Profile, Herald -Portsmouth Middle School Kids Get the Picture) as well as internationally, (Recent Learning to See project in Mexico,Banderas News.).
     
     
     


Learning to See projects begin with the teaching of photographic techniques, then involve students in capturing, discussing and displaying their images. With simple instruction, the students only need encouragement to explore their own ideas and to be confident in approaching their subjects. Each student (typically young people and seniors) employs their new skills to explore and engage with their environment. Using a camera opens doors and opens one's eyes to people and places and gives the student license to explore their curiosity. As they document their interests, a unique and valuable record emerges of their families, their communities, and their culture.
  
     
     
     
 


Some Learning to See projects include collaborations with other artists and organizations, and the result is that educational institutions, local businesses, and other artists join the budding photographers to create multidisciplinary pieces and events to tell the important stories of a community. For instance, in a recent Learning to See project in rural Mexico, the child photographers -- none of whom had ever used a camera or studied English before -- employed their photos to learn English words by labeling and discussing their subjects with their school teacher and local adult volunteers. This project became the foundation for volunteer-led English classes at the elementary school.
     
     



Learning to See projects include four distinct stages: introduction to photography, taking pictures, editing, and presentation. While the actual schedule and scope of a project varies according to each project's goals and collaborators, a typical project devotes one day to each stage:

Day One To begin, students learn about the art of photography and the use of the camera. Students look at a variety of images, from famous historic photographs to images made in local newspapers. They use these images to observe perspective, composition and discuss the message of the image. Having the students bring in their favorite visuals is also encouraged. Then students are instructed on the function of the camera, and how to use it to achieve different effects and results.

Day Two In the second stage, students go out into their environment and shoot what interests them: their families, their neighborhood, their cultural activites. The emphasis at this stage is on exploring students' personal visions, and gaining some insight into what draws them to the images they make. Students may be assigned particular technical exercises, such as to use their images to study framing and point of view, or they may have more general goals, such as to document their neighborhoods or local cultural events.

Day Three With all their images developed or printed out and gathered together, students now jointly review and critique their work, learning more about what makes an interesting photograph. Discussing the pictures engages students both visually and verbally, as they study their images' merits and themes. Depending on the project, specific assignments are given and further sessions include critiquing the images, discussing intentions behind their images, and how successful they feel they were. Writing about their images then becomes an additional way of using visual art to help verbal communication. Students are made aware that in art there is no right or wrong. All efforts are a stepping stone to further exploration.

Day Four The final stage involves public display: sometimes an exhibit, sometimes a printed book, sometimes a collaborative presentation with other educators or artists. This stage has two goals. First it allows students to take pride in their work and experience the reaction of others to it. Secondly, when viewed as a whole the project often makes a statement about a neighborhood, event or culture. Very often this stage involves a writing component: either writing captions as to the who, what, where, why, when of the images, or using the images as the basis for creative prose and poetry.
  








     
     
     
 


Learning To See programs require each student to use a camera, but expensive technology is not necessary. Past programs have used the student's own cameras, or have provided them with inexpensive digital or film cameras. In one recent project, grant funding provided eighty inexpensive digital cameras that were retained by the students' school after the project, and have since been used by many other students for a wide range of work.
     
     
     


Learning To See projects are funded through grants and donations. Recent supporters include Piscataqua Bank, The Rotary Club of Portsmouth, the Clark Family Foundation, and the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Learning To See projects are eligible for funding through New Hampshire State Arts Council grant programs.
  

     
     
 


Nancy Grace Horton began conducting her Learning To See programs in 2001. She is a freelance editorial and fine art photographer and educator. She does commissioned works and teaches in communities and colleges as an artist-in-residence. Ms. Horton is a member of the juried New Hampshire Artist Roster. She says, "As the director of these projects, I enjoy giving people the opportunity to use a camera as a means of appreciating their surroundings, and becoming aware of what is important to them. It is a pleasure to have students gain confidence and experience by working individually to contribute to the project as a whole. And when all the project's images are combined into a final presentation, it is a thrill to see students take pride in their project and the community they have studied."