Digital Media Training for Teens

Shine On Teens Help CPAG Document Chicago Murals & Art - While Building Digital Portfolios

Shine On, Chicago learned through partners at The Chicago Learning Exchange that one of the members, The Chicago Public Arts Group was building a Digital Map with pins to the more than 300 public art projects and murals that have been done during its 40 years of working in Chicago neighborhoods and communities.

After reaching out to The Chicago Public Arts Group, we discovered an interesting “client/agency” fit for our Shine On Chicago Photo Teens and the CPAG. They were in need of some new photos documenting some of the murals, and Shine On Chicago — with our mobile classroom/Coach — could plan to visit and document some of the CPAG murals and art installations throughout the city.

By the end of the summer, we were able to photograph 28 CPAG installations in total!

This photo assignment provided the teens with lots of opportunities to learn real-world skills, including learning the layouts of Chicago neighborhoods better by helping navigate the Shine On Coach; how to take pictures of the different murals in the best light possible, as well as how to politely approach people around the murals, and ask them for permission to photograph them as they passed by a particular mural or public art piece.

The Agency/Client paradigm worked well on this project— as teens got a chance to develop their digital portfolios by being part of a “real-world” marketing project that used their photography to tell the CPAG’s amazing story of creativity and community, while The Chicago Public Arts Group got some wonderful documentary photography of some of their newer murals and art installations around the city. It was a “win-win” for everyone involved!

Below is a Photo Show that documents the teens documenting CPAG installations around the city — enjoy!

If this sounds like the kind of program that you would support, please donate below.
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