Changes in Your Perspective
This exhibition highlights the work of ten high school students from Harlem and the Bronx. The images were created over the course of a three-day photography workshop in Fall 2019, taught by the Josephine Herrick Project (JHP), in partnership with NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research through its Step-Up program. They are now featured through the public art program at NYU at the window space of the Kaufman Center in the southeast corner of NYU Schwartz Plaza.
During the program, students from two schools met with JHP teaching photographers, to learn photography and explore their city. At the end of the intensive workshop, funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), students came away with images for their portfolios, new skills with a camera, and more confidence in applying to and attending university in the future. This exhibition showcases the best of the work they produced during these three days.
JHP and the McSilver Institute are in their sixth year of partnership, working closely together to build a holistic, meaningful program that helps NYC youth focus on building confidence, self-esteem, and creativity through photography.
Step-Up is a youth development and mental health support program funded in part by the Robin Hood Foundation, which aims to promote social-emotional development, key life skills, academic achievement, high school graduation, and a positive transition to young adulthood. Over the past decade, Step-Up has served over 700 high school students in eight NYC public high schools and has achieved a graduation rate of 85 percent.
The McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University is committed to creating new knowledge about the root causes of poverty, developing evidence-based interventions to address its consequences, and rapidly translating research findings into action through policy and practice. Through partnering with the Josephine Herrick Project and Step-Up, the McSilver Institute has helped to support vulnerable youths on their journey to college.
