Rice professor involves students, children in FotoFest 2008

‘The Pozos Children’s Project’
Rice professor involves students, children in FotoFest 2008

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News Staff

An international showcase of photography and photo-related art, FotoFest 2008 provides the perfect venue for Rice University professor Geoff Winningham and painter Janice Freeman to display works they created with Rice students and the children of Mineral de Pozos, a small ghost town in the heart of Mexico. The exhibition, which runs until March 29, features photographs and monotypes created by 39 Pozos children, ages 7 to 16, as part of an artistic and educational outreach project.

COURTESY PHOTO

Winningham’s exhibition at the Jung Center features photographs and monotypes created by 39 Pozos children as part of an artistic and educational outreach project.

The opening reception for their exhibition, “Mi Pueblo: The Pozos Children’s Project,” will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. March 9 at the Jung Center of Houston, 5200 Montrose Blvd. The event and exhibition is free and open to the public.

During three weeklong trips in 2007, Winningham and Freeman took eight Rice students to Pozos to teach children the basics of photography. Under the guidance of the Rice students, the children were given cameras and other materials to discover, explore and capture their town through artwork. Rice students spent their days walking with the children through the town and their nights processing and proofing film.

“I believe that art has the power to make bonds, to bring communities and people together,” said Myrth Killingsworth, a Rice senior. “By going to Pozos and teaching the kids there, I was simply able to pass on a great gift that was given to me — the ability to express myself in a way that connects me to the world and the people around me.”

The show, which builds on Winningham’s 2006 exhibit “Mi Pueblo,” is already slotted to appear at the Texas State University’s Wittliff Collection and museums in Mexico.

“I have a hunch that the show is going to be a real hit wherever it goes,” Winningham said. “The photographs and monotypes are stunning. And at a time when the relationship is strained between our two countries, this is refreshing and shows a goodwill connection.”

Funding from Abrams, Scott & Bickley LLP, King & Spalding LLP, Carolyn Grant Fay, and Sheila and Isaac Heimbinder made this project possible. For more information about the exhibition or to see a photo, visit http://www.cgjunghouston.org/art/pages/pages08/march08pozos.htm.