Young Photographers, Brighter Days
photo courtesy of DaShawn Lewis & Edgehill Brighter Days
Do you remember how much bigger the world seemed when you were a child? People, buildings, your neighborhood, huge expanses of blue sky etched with branches.
In mid-November of this year, the grounds of Edgehill United Methodist Church in Nashville were transformed into an outdoor gallery, showing documentary photography by the kids involved in the Edgehill Brighter Days program, headed by Nancy Crutcher.
Photographer DaShawn Lewis and a small army of volunteer teaching artists lead a series of photo walks for the young people in the program, handing out disposable cameras and giving the kids the space to capture their world through their own lens. “Those kids have their own story,” says teaching artist Shadale Smith. “And I just like seeing their perspective.”
““I like saving memories. Things go by, and they’re forgotten, especially in the black community ... So my goal is just to capture as much as I can just to make sure that that history is preserved. “”
We spoke with DaShawn Lewis and a few of the Edgehill Brighter Days teaching artists about what makes this program special. Our teaching artist interviewees included Lesa Dowdy, Mustafa Al Juboori, Natalyn McCants, Shadale Smith and Rosy Ortiz — all of whom are featured in the video interview.
Edgehill Brighter Days is a series of enrichment programs includes mentoring, tutoring, and plenty of fun. Photographer DaShawn Lewis took part in the program as a kid, and it made a lasting impact.
“One day, I was just thinking I hadn't seen Miss Nancy in a long time, and she was very important person in my life,” Lewis says. “So I need to stop by there and check to see if she's okay, if she's still there. And turns out, she's still there — and that's been over 20 years. And she's still doing that work in the community. So it was important for me to help her out in any way possible, or just do anything I could to provide something for the program.”
Lewis and other teaching artists began to offer arts workshops, and from there the photo walks were born. “We all meet up, and then we have like a little powwow with the kids, just giving them tips,” explains filmmaker Lesa Dowdy. “And then we just go on our merry way. And we walk around their neighborhood, and we have them document things that interest them, that tells story of the neighborhood or just catches their eye. We basically teach them about documentary photography, and how to tell the story with their photos.”
“We pretty much tell them to look for things that interest them, things that stand out, things that they have questions about, things that they are beautiful,” Lewis adds. “Get them to look around and see the world and share what they see with us. The goal is for the kids to capture their environment from their eyes … because when adults get grown, we see things and we scrutinize things and we look at things and twist things a certain way. But kids, they have a fresh eye.”
The photos on display November 14 were revelatory. Mirrors, neighbors, photos of other kids taking photos. Sky, parks and pools. Their changing neighborhood is one of many grappling with the rapid gentrification sweeping Nashville, and the waves of opportunistic developers and wealthy newcomers that flood in as a result. These young photographers have the opportunity to capture a pivotal moment in their backyard from their perspective.
“I know that kids see it, and some of them may be able to internalize and see what's happening,” Lewis says. “But it's not at the level an adult would — they just see things changing, these big houses going up and things like that. And they look neat to them, but they don't probably fully understand what's happening around [them].”
Documenting this moment is crucial to why Lewis is himself a photographer. “I mainly do it because it's a passion of mine, I like saving memories. Things go by, and they're forgotten, especially in the black community. Our history is pretty hard to find. Things that happen in our history, like to go back and do research, it's pretty much washed away for the most part. So starting here, is important. My goal is just to capture as much as I can — mostly family things, but anything outside of it. Capture as much as I can just to make sure that that history is preserved. And hopefully that will benefit people in the future somehow.”
In addition to providing an introduction to practicing art and just being fun, these photo walks offer an opportunity for young people to grow in community. “I would like for people to realize that their art and their creativity is their superpower,” Natalyn McCants says. “There's nothing that they can't do, as long as they keep pursuing it and pursue it in their own way versus trying to be what someone else already is. And no one can be better than them because they are who they are. Also, make it to bridging conversations, where people have two opposite opinions, but just make a space where they can safely discuss discuss those differences with each other to gain understanding, even if they don't agree with each other, but at least understand.”
In a year where we as adults have largely failed to model a healthy approach to bridging our differences, this is vital. These young people get to begin the practice in their own changing community and, with hope, it will spread throughout their lives and the future.
“Showing the kids community — the power of community and building community,” Lewis says. “Having friends that like to do other things and coming together and showing it how important that is for you to be able to learn something from someone, or get together and create something with people that can carry on for the future.”
