Pittsburgh Voices Through Photos
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Innovation Synopsis
This 5-week program was based on the dialogue training provided by Essential Photovoice, a collaboration of Essential Partners and Interfaith Photovoice. Library staff members planned out a program fitted to our community members in Pittsburgh, PA to discuss the challenges our community faces.
Our program intended to create connections between members of our community and gain a deeper understanding of the hopes and concerns of the Pittsburgh community at large. We invited folks to interact with each other's photographs and have a dialogue based on that week’s topic of discussion. Our goal in doing this was to create a safe space for conversation from people in our community who may or may not typically have a chance to meet and discuss topics like race, economic inequity, social justice, climate, religious intolerance in a deeper sense, with the point of being open and approaching these topics with curiosity.
Challenge/Opportunity
The primary challenge addressed by the "Pittsburgh Voices Through Photos" program was fostering meaningful dialogue within a diverse community facing complex issues such as race, economic inequity, social justice, climate change, and religious intolerance. Recognizing the need for a safe and inclusive space where community members could engage in open conversations, the opportunity lay in leveraging the power of photography to bridge gaps and promote understanding. By utilizing Essential Photovoice's dialogue training, we created a platform for participants to share and discuss their personal experiences and perspectives through photographs, ultimately building stronger community connections and fostering a deeper understanding of the collective hopes and concerns of Pittsburgh residents.
Key Elements of Innovation
The "Pittsburgh Voices Through Photos" program innovatively combined the art of photography with structured dialogue to address pressing community issues. By utilizing the Essential Photovoice training, the program equipped participants with the tools to visually express their experiences and engage in meaningful conversations. Key elements included the creation of a safe, inclusive space for dialogue, the use of photographs as conversation catalysts, and the focus on diverse topics such as race, economic inequity, social justice, climate change, and religious intolerance. This approach not only facilitated deeper understanding and empathy among community members but also empowered them to connect and collaborate in addressing shared challenges.
Achieved Outcomes
We created deeper ties with our small but mighty attendees, our final 7, who participated throughout the entire project and exhibited in the art gallery. They invited their friends and family to the exhibit, of which we had over 50 attendees, including the county executive.
We also were able to extend and create a bridge between our library staff and our archivist with a project the archivist is lifting to create a neighborhood photo archive to track the change of the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.
