January 21, 2014
Erik Badger

Some time ago we posted a blog about “Fowom Foto” – “Photography Forum” – a project led by Jayne Engle-Warnick (John’s sister!) as part of her doctoral research at McGill University. I had the pleasure of working with Jayne on this – assisting her in the research as well as translating – last July when she came for a month to lead activities, do interviews, and follow up on the work she started the year before. It was really interesting. Jayne’s research is participatory, interactive, and fun! Together with a group of 12 Baocia residents we did social mapping activities, household  interviews, a community walking tour designed by participants, had great discussions about the images they were capturing in their community and what they meant, and we even went on a long walk up to the open air market at Greffen. We all had a really great time.

And that’s what makes Jayne’s research so interesting: instead of distancing itself from its subjects in order to make sense of them, it brings them closer through participatory activities so that they guide us in the process of trying to understand their lives, their community, and their hopes for the future.

HP and I are thrilled to be in partnership with Jayne. In the above video, Jayne describes her work. It’s a great video and we hope you like it. (For more depth, click here for the longer version.) Also, below you can view a slideshow from Jayne’s work, including a number of pictures taken by participants.