PHC Programs
Crossroads Photovoice Project and Exhibition
The Michigan State University/East Lansing Crossroads Photovoice Project is a partnership between the Residential College in the Arts & Humanities (RCAH) and residents from the City of East Lansing. The project was designed and facilitated by David Cooper (Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, and Director of the College of Arts and Letters' Public Humanities Collaborative), Rachelle Woodbury (Community Liaison), and Kristen Law (Community Psychology Doctoral Candidate). Seven residents from the City of East Lansing and seven students from the RCAH participated, all of whom are featured in the composite poster of the project.
Photovoice is an innovative photo essay method that incorporates the practice of social documentary photography with the process of empowerment education. From January through April 2008, the Crossroads photographers explored their community with cameras. They gathered frequently to discuss their experiences and share thoughts about the East Lansing/MSU community through images and written reflections. While the photographers were given framing questions to guide their experience, they enjoyed significant latitude and freedom to express what they felt was important in their images. The photo essays were exhibited for a month in the Public Art Gallery of the Hannah Community Center with the opening ceremony taking place on May 4. During the month of June, the exhibition will be open to the public at MSU's Hannah Administration Building, after which it will travel to other states. We hope that this project will create further dialog about issues important to the East Lansing community and inspire others to become empowered to imagine and create change.
