CVC hosts its first Essential Photovoice Workshop

The Center for a Vital Community at Sheridan College (CVC) recently hosted its first Essential Photovoice Workshop.

According to CVC Director Amy Albrecht, Essential Photovoice (EPV) uses amateur photography and reflective structured dialogue to facilitate group discussions to capture people’s perspectives of their communities. The project unfolds over six weeks with a group identifying, photographing, and discussing community strengths, challenges, and themes. The project concludes with an exhibition when participants share the stories behind their photographs.

The exhibition of participants’ photographs will hang at the Whitney Center for the Arts at Sheridan College, March 13-24.  

The public is invited to a reception and celebration of the photographers on Thursday, March 16, from 4 –6 p.m.

“The hope for Sheridan’s Essential Photovoice exhibition is to initiate conversations around the stories behind the photos and what they represent to both the photographer and observer,” Albrecht said. “By creating meaningful dialogue about different views of our community, talking about growth and change becomes more comfortable.”

In a release, Albrecht wrote that Essential Partners of Cambridge, MA, leveraged the power of Reflective Structured Dialogue with the help of Interfaith Photovoice of Grand Rapids, MI, a photo-based community engagement methodology, to create Essential Photovoice. Essential Photovoice training weaves together dialogue skills with a process for generating reflection and conversation through visual prompts.

The Center for a Vital Community at Sheridan College (CVC) has a five-year working relationship with Essential Partners. It credits the training of 65+ community members with many successful Community Conversations – constructive dialogue around difficult subjects. 

Jim Barth, Erin Butler, Cathi Kindt, Grace Cannon-Wallace, Julie Greer, and Albrecht were the members of the first Essential Photovoice pilot project in the Spring of 2022.  

“EPV was a great opportunity to conduct a civil conversation while listening to different perspectives on our community,” Kindt said.