Riverwood Student Photography Rides The Rails With MARTA

SANDY SPRINGS, GA - From Riverwood International Charter School: Fifteen Riverwood International Charter School students recently had their artwork featured on a Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) train as part of a citywide celebration of photography and community. Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) invited students from Riverwood, as well as Tri-Cities High School in East Point, to submit photographs that tell stories of their communities and reflect upon the assumptions and misconceptions of them. ACP hosted workshops for the students and introduced them to local photographers who helped them to better understand what makes a good photograph. The students from both high schools met at the High Museum to present their images and to discuss whether they adequately represented their community. Beginning with a kick-off celebration on Sunday, October 1st, the artwork was displayed, poster-size, on two ART CARS on the MARTA North-South (Red) line. The images remained on the trains for a week.

The Riverwood and Tri-Cities photographs were commissioned as part of the launch of the Everyday Atlanta
Instagram feed, whose mission it is to use photographs to help diverse communities within Atlanta embrace their differences as they celebrate all that they have in common. Everyday Atlanta is an extension of Everyday Africa, an Instagram feed with over 300 thousand followers developed by photographer Austin Merrill to combat stereotypes of African communities. The “Everyday” umbrella now features over 20 communities, with Atlanta being one of the newest.

Riverwood photography teacher, Lana Ensmann, extended the opportunity to participate in the project to all photography students. The students who opted to participate included those in the Magnet, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) Photography programs: Emily Greenslade, Wesley Mills, Isis Mayfield, Shereen Ragheb, Michael Kraft, Native Erwin, Josephine Johnson, Jason King, Brenna Munson, Maeve Munson, Reina Abernathy, Mary Mac Birkel, Elizabeth Hernandez, Dori Balser, and Sage Patterson. Notes Ensmann, “This experience has been incredible for everyone. I think it was great for the students to be a part of every stage, from the beginning, the first idea, to going out to tell their story with photography, to professionals looking at their work and giving them feedback, to seeing their work displayed at the High, to the culmination of seeing their images printed out, very large, on a MARTA train! Not many artists get this kind of exposure -- ever!” Riverwood has over 110 students in its photography programs, which serve as part of its Fine Arts Pathway.

Image via Riverwood International Charter School