Accompagnateur Workshops's Fundraiser
Gordon Parks called his camera a weapon.
Mine is an olive branch.🕊
Youth, women, and men can be silenced by circumstance and society. Through exercises, supportive conversations, and the lens of the camera, we are better able to see others, as well as ourselves. Accompagnateur Workshops support people as they come to terms with the past, embrace the present, and articulate a vision for the future. As we find our voice, we find our footing.
A $100 donation pays for printed portraits for one workshop
$600 buys a camera for a person to document their world
$2,500 creates a voice of social advocacy creates a voice of social advocacy
$10,000 sponsors a workshop for an organization on the front lines of social change
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS TO BRIDGE DIVIDES
Saskia Keeley is an international photojournalist who partners with humanitarian organizations to share their valuable work with the world. Saskia runs photography workshops in which participants unpack decades of fear and bias through the simple acts of looking and listening.
"For years I dreamed of being able to knock on my neighbor's door and ask for sugar and flour. And that she would knock on my door and let me take care of her little baby, Yusuf, who does not let her sleep at night.", said one of the participants.
Accompagnateur Workshops bridge diverse cultures through creative exploration and collaboration using a camera as the common tool. The photo workshops establish a dialogue between people from disparate cultures beyond the initial barriers to communication.
In pairs, participants work as partners to develop their photography skills, allowing them to see with greater clarity those perceived as Other as individuals with a unique story possibly dissimilar to their own. This guided process to look deeply and listen fully engenders a profound change in perspective from judgmental to accepting.
Over the course of those workshops, conducted in a safe and well-supervised setting, transformation and healing come from intimate interactions.