This is Neighbourhood 29

This is Neighbourhood 29 was a photographic project I designed and deployed to give a creative opportunity to young people aged 7 to 17 living in the Fushe Kosove area of Pristina. The project explored empowerment through creative expression using the art of photography to transform and build self-esteem. The children were Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian, from the poorest community in one of the poorest country in Europe (Department for International Development, 2013). The project was supported by the volunteers of Kosovan NGO ‘The Ideas Partnership’, as a part of their Summer Programme July-Aug 2011. Each day during the life of the project hundreds of photographs from the children were downloaded and curated into a daily narrative of 29 photographs uploaded to the website. During the running of the project (active for 17 days) it received over 1000 visits from 49 international territories. The project had an activism focus - to use creativity and design as a tool to invite/initiate change. Each participant was given a camera, some basic training and then given the freedom to explore, experiment and express their creativity by taking photographs to represent their neighbourhood and showcase the community from their unique perspective, to the rest of the world. Each day during the project 29 images were uploaded to the site to create a matrix that represented that day in Neighbourhood 29. Social media was used to promote the project and highlight the needs of the community. Mike Simonelli a Boston based experimental musician recorded a track in response to the photographs and sounds of the children, this accompanies a slideshow on the site.