“The first time I held the camera in my hands, I was excited but also scared, as a sense of duty crept in,” said G. Bharathi, a class 10 student of the Government Model Higher Secondary School, Saidapet, who is looking forward to displaying her photographs at an upcoming exhibition.
Government school students from 11 districts will showcase their photography work in a culmination of a year-long workshop they participated in. The photography exhibition, titled ‘Unseen Perspectives’ will display as many as 800 photographs shot by 560 students at the Lalit Kala Akademi on February 16 and 17. This is part of an Art Labs project, introduced by the School Education Department, where students of government model schools take up extra-curricular activities.
Mentored by photojournalist M. Palani Kumar and 11 other trainers in the districts, the students were taught the nuances of photography. “This was the first time that photography has been introduced to students and they have been encouraged to take photos that depict stories about people and their livelihoods,” said an official from the government.
Speaking about the exhibition Mr. Palani Kumar said that the workshop nudged the students to look at what was happening in their surroundings. “The exhibition is about more than photographs, it is about their stories,” he said.
After handling a camera and mobile phones at school, Bharathi got to take a DSLR camera to her home in Gummidipoondi for the Deepavali holidays to take photographs; to tell a story. “For the first time I visited my father’s workplace. He and his friends were very encouraging. I spent all my holidays documenting them to do justice to their work,” said Bharathi, who has since developed a more keen interest in photography.
Kavyasri, also a class 10 student, said, “The classes were a stress-buster. We learnt how to tell a story through a photograph and the power it has to create a social influence.”
The Art Labs programme was introduced to students of classes 9 to 12, for a chance to take part in any one of seven art forms: theatre, karate, storytelling, parai attam, silambam, photography and art and craft. Each year, the students get to explore any of these art forms and get a diploma certificate at the end of it. “There are plans to now expand this programme to all the schools,” said an official from the department.
“The extra curricular activities have given avenues for many students who wouldn’t communicate to now speak up and express themselves,” said Hemalatha. K, a staff member at the Government Model School, Tiruchi.
