U.S.A. and Bulgaria: Image and Print

The Unfinished Picture Project would like to facilitate a multimedia investigation of New Orleans, Louisiana and Varna, Bulgaria. Groups of young people in each location will use creative blogging and photography to populate online maps of their communities; they will use social media to share these maps with each other and the world. The collaborative mapping project will also result in a combined publication and exhibition.

Topical focus:

Youth Advocacy

Country:

U.S.A.

What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?

Varna/New Orleans

Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.

We will work with young people between the ages of 10 and 15. We feel that this sort of activity broadens horizons and establishes a sense of international citizenry, while empowering them to become future leaders in their community. In both New Orleans and Varna, we will work with young people who may not have regular access to internet or art resources.

What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?

This is a collaborative mapping project. The creative writing component will include personal stories and/or poetry that defines (for the participants) their local community. The images will be taken by participants and will be an investigation of their space as well.

What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?

Blogs, Digital Photography, Mapping

Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.

The Unfinished Picture Project members actively seek new connections with community centers and organizations for collaborations. We have established connections with arts and hack groups in New Orleans and Varna that might be interested in taking part in this project. Specifically, we have established contact with Sankore, an arts and trades center, in New Orleans, as well as VarnaLab, a technologist group in Bulgaria.

How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?

We would like to train 10 young people at a time and for the project to last no more than 4 months. We will seek participation through local schools and community centers, and may offer the course as a part of local public education in New Orleans.

Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?

The Unfinished Picture Project is a network of students, practitioners and organizations dedicated to the creative problem solving and social empowerment through collaborative, multimedia projects. Rising Voices outreach curriculum would be a tremendous asset to this project, as well as access to members of the online Global Voices community.

Contact name

Minks Stoyanova

Organization

The Unfinished Picture Project