The photo exhibit In a Whole New Way: New Yorkers on Probation Photograph Their World will be on display at the library throughout February and March 2022. Join us for an exclusive screening of the accompanying award-winning documentary In a Whole New Way via Zoom. A panel discussion with the filmmakers and Maine public officials working in the justice system will follow the film. In addition to the filmmakers from Seeing for Ourselves, we’ll be joined by Cumberland County District Attorney Jonathan Sahrbeck, Assistant District Attorney Nicole Albert, and Christopher Arbour, probation officer with the Maine Department of Corrections. They will discuss how this initiative can help curb both mass probation and mass incarceration in our country. Moving, important, inspirational and eye-opening, you won’t want to miss the exclusive screening of this short film about one of the most pressing issues of our time. Join us by registering below!
Seeing for Ourselves focuses on American lives, their work-a-day stories, and how they see the world around them. The content originates with those generally seen through the prism of outside observers very different from themselves. Participatory photography, the Seeing for Ourselves practice, corrects that distortion. We look to provide fresh perspectives by equipping and training primarily disenfranchised and marginalized groups to take control of their own narratives. How? By taking photographs that command attention, promote self-actualization, and shift dominant paradigms.
To ensure top-quality work, we equip participants in our programs with suitable film or digital cameras, train them in the art of photography, inspire them with what the masters have done, and encourage them to document their lives. With cameras in their hands, these eager students, young and old, become the creators, frame by frame, of the pictures and words that tell the story of their lives. We then provide a platform—a book, an exhibit, or a movie—to share the results with the wider world.
This program is free and open to all.
Please join us by registering below!