Today at the Museum

Through the Eyes of Our Children—
Something Beautiful

April 25–June 10, 2007

Mezzanine 2

Through the Eyes of Our Children presents photographs made by students from the Dallas Independent School District’s Area 2. Inspired to follow personal journeys of discovery through their photographs, these students convey their perceptions and ideas about the neighborhoods—and even the broader community— in which they live.

Students from Charles Rice Learning Center, Joseph J. Rhoads Learning Center, H. S. Thompson Learning Center, Pearl C. Anderson Middle Learning Center, and Lincoln High School participated in a Preservation LINK arts-in-education program called POINT OF VIEW. This three-tier exploratory course is designed to use literacy, art, and technology education to empower young people as they explore and express thoughts and feelings about themselves, their community, and their world.

Instructed by photographer David Herman, Jr., over seventy students, ranging in age from nine to seventeen, engaged in a twelve-week curriculum focused on the fundamentals of camera operation, photo composition, editing, and more. Engaged in listening, feeling, viewing, and capturing images, students worked hard to tackle the theme, Something Beautiful. While some images were shot with digital cameras, others are photographic prints taken with 35mm cameras using black-and-white film. In addition, each student was given a disposable 35mm camera in order to explore and illustrate their neighborhood’s character, assets, and people. Along with the images, students shared written thoughts about their life experiences, family, community, and what they believe to be “something beautiful.”

POINT OF VIEW-2007 is sponsored by the Foundation for Community Empowerment (FCE) and South Dallas/Fair Park Development Funds Grant. Additional partners include Dallas Independent School District—Area 2, and MIRACLES, a program of the Todd Wagner Foundation.

The Dallas Museum of Art is supported in part by the generosity of Museum members and donors and by the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

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