Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Free Photography Exhibition Opening at the National Geographic Museum, Dec. 18

Carnival Costume (Photo Camp: Haiti)

From our friends at the National Geographic Museum...

New Exhibition to Showcase National Geographic Photo Camp Student Photography

“Photo Camp: A Decade of Storytelling” Opens at National Geographic Museum, December 18

Since 2003, National Geographic Photo Camp has partnered with organizations worldwide to inspire young people to explore their communities through a camera lens. “Photo Camp: A Decade of Storytelling,” a new National Geographic Museum exhibition opening Thursday, December 18, will feature spectacular images captured by students who have participated in the 67 workshops held to date. Since its inception, the program has reached a global audience of more than 50 million through media coverage and exhibitions of student work. The free exhibition, which will be on display at the museum’s M Street gallery, will include photos from the most recent workshop, Photo Camp South Sudan.

“Photo Camp is all about teaching young people about the power of photography and giving them the tools to tell their own stories in communities around the world,” said Kathryn Keane, vice president of National Geographic Exhibitions. “This exhibition celebrates this wonderful decade-long program that is core to National Geographic’s mission to inspire, illuminate and teach.”


Photo Camp is conducted in partnership with VisionWorkshops. Olympus Imaging America donates the cameras used by the participants. Each workshop connects National Geographic photographers with groups of students ranging in age from 13 to 25. Photo Camp South Sudan, held this past September in partnership with Internews and with funding support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, was led by National Geographic magazine contributing photographers Ed Kashi, Amy Toensing and Matt Moyer along with Ross Goldberg, National Geographic’s vice president of strategic development. The six-day workshop taught the students how to use photography to document the ways in which the South Sudanese are engaging in cross-tribal peace-building activities. Toensing, Moyer and three of the Photo Camp South Sudan student participants will appear at National Geographic headquarters on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at noon for a panel discussion as part of National Geographic Live’s “Tuesdays at Noon” programming.

In “Photo Camp: A Decade of Storytelling,” the nearly 150 student photographs are organized around six themes: love, survival, work, home, community and self-image. Behind-the-scenes photos offer insight into the program dynamics and illustrate the huge impact these workshops have had on the over 2,500 young people, including at-risk and refugee teens, who have participated. The exhibit centerpiece contains one photo from each of the 67 workshop locations, accompanied by a video overview of Photo Camp South Sudan that was shot and produced by Toensing and Moyer.

Generous support for this exhibition was provided by Iara Lee, founder of Cultures of Resistance Network and a member of the National Geographic International Council of Advisors.

Also open in the Museum’s 17th Street galleries are “Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous,” which will run until April 12, 2015, and “FOOD: Our Global Kitchen,” which will be open through Feb. 22, 2015.

The National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., is open every day (except Dec. 25) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $11 for adults; $9 for National Geographic members, military, students, seniors and groups of 25 or more; $7 for children 5-12; and free for local school, student and youth groups (18 and under; advance reservation required). Tickets may be purchased online at www.ngmuseum.org; via telephone at (202) 857-7700; or in person at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17thStreet, N.W., between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. For more information on group sales, call (202) 857-7281.

About the National Geographic Society:
With a mission to inspire, illuminate and teach, the National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. The member-supported Society, which believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world, reaches over 600 million people each month through its media platforms, products and events. National Geographic has funded more than 11,000 research, conservation and exploration projects, and its education programs promote geographic literacy. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.com and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest.