The Coleman Center for the Arts and Culture
Merging of Cultures, October 1 to October 28, 2005
This ongoing project uses photography and creative non-fiction writing to capture the uniqueness of each culture represented in the Mobile Public School System. Works from four schools, both rural and inner-city were included in this exhibit; Leflore High School, Dunbar Magnet Middle School, Alma Bryant High School, and Grand Bay Middle School.
Students who participated in the Merging of Cultures project took home manual cameras and documented their lives, their interests, their families, and their hobbies, and then processed their black and white film in the schools’ darkrooms. They photographed and printed for months before they settled on their final subjects. At the conclusion of the project, they used the best prints for permanent exhibits, which visit other schools and museums on an ongoing basis.
The sessions that led to this exhibit were held three days a week after school for 90 minutes, and its participants included 21 students, two professional educators, and the two artists who began the project, Peggy Dennison and Sheila Haggler.