Q&A with Chris Rauschenberg and Wendy Ewald
Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
381 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003-7022
www.rauschenbergfoundation.org
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is proud to fund a project led by photographer Wendy Ewald in collaboration with 300 Tanzanian teachers and thousands of Tanzanian students to conceive, design and produce 160,000 photographic posters and distribute them to each of the 16,000 classrooms in Tanzania. This project powerfully combines the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s two philanthropic focuses, on art and on global problems. To describe this project better our Board Chair, Christopher Rauschenberg, asked Wendy Ewald some questions here, and continued on our website:
Christopher Rauschenberg:
Because of the amazing work you’ve done with teaching photography to young people, we brought you to the Rauschenberg Foundation to talk about involving you in our Power of Art workshop at the Lab School of Washington. At the end of that meeting we casually asked you what you’re up to these days and you told us about what you’re doing in Tanzania. We were really excited by what we heard and we are thrilled to be able to contribute to making this happen. Can you describe the project for everybody?
Wendy Ewald:
In July 2007, I was invited by the Ministry of Education and local businessmen to lead a workshop for 40 elementary school teachers in Arusha, Tanzania—one teacher from every school in the district.
The enthusiasm and support of the participating teachers have fueled the development of what’s become a national photography program. Since the 2007 workshop, Tanzanian teachers have begun piloting projects with start-up supplies (cameras, film and books) provided by a local NGO we started, which is now housed in a local Arusha resources center by our Tanzanian partner. Mr. Shaibu, an artist and retired art teacher, leads this effort as he assists teachers with their new projects, and I have returned with public school teachers and students each July to assist in training and future planning. To date, we have trained over 300 Tanzanian teachers; thousands of students have joined in these projects.
These experiences laid the groundwork for our next objective: to produce curriculum materials for distribution to all primary schools in Tanzania. The first stage is a set of posters that directly address the national curriculum, and are culturally relevant, visually rich, and interactive.
At every step in the project, Tanzanian teachers and students are involved in creating, evaluating and testing the curriculum posters we are making together. Katy Homans, one of the best graphic designers in the US today, worked with teachers to lay out posters that tell community stories, whether about the environment or Kiswahili riddles. Once the posters and lesson booklet have been printed, we will follow up in workshops with teachers on the various ways they can use the material. They will also serve as models for teachers to make their own posters.
We plan to distribute to all 16,000 primary schools a set of ten LTP photographic posters and a study booklet that are linked to the national curriculum. The posters engage core subjects such as Science (HIV/AIDS), Kiswahili (proverbial learning), English (emotional expressions) and Geography (environment studies), Math (fractions, angles and shapes), Civics (Tanzanian tribes), and History (colonization and independence).
Christopher Rauschenberg:
What do you think makes photography a powerful tool for learning?
Wendy Ewald:
Photography that references the details of local environments can connect with students. They are excited to see themselves and their neighbors represented. Unlike rote memorization and recital of facts, images are open to interpretation; images engage the imagination; images encourage students to synthesize a lesson with their own ideas; and images encourage students to take deeper looks at their world outside the classroom.
Tanzanian students learn in classrooms where the teacher-to-pupil ratio can reach 1 to 100; they have few, if any, textbooks; even access to basic materials like paper and pencils is severely limited. Classroom materials amount to little more than chalk and a blackboard. The students have almost no visual aids.
The national education plan prioritizes participatory education, active learning, and attention to social issues such as gender and HIV/AIDS. But the classroom populations and the lack of resources make it nearly impossible to meet the national requirements.
To read the rest of the interview—please visit www.rauschenbergfoundation.org.
