A Day in the Life of Wesley is a project composed of photographs and audio taken from spending three-weeks at Wesley Community Centers of Savannah, Inc. The purpose was to collect media for a number of PR uses; to explore and continue a rich relationship with the center; and to allow my daughter time to witness a first-hand account of Wesley’s magic.
Annika with her classmates.
Wesley has served children many children and families since 1949. They were brave enough to hire a wily unfocused young man, yours truly, and focus him facilitating their summer camp and work in the child care during 1999-2000. This is also where Charles Houston, Jr., served via 1967-1969.
Wesley early childhood education and development center keeps fees affordable for low-income families. Provides free services to families who are homeless. One hundred percent of their “graduates”, including those with emotional, physical, and psychological disabilities, go on to achieve at or above their target skill level in kindergarten. They are in 100% compliance with state regulations and immunization. This program is proud to have earned national accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the mark of quality for early childhood education programs.
High Energy Triptychs
School Portraits, was the first presentation of work from the ongoing A Day In The Life of Wesley Series. All the children from the child-care facility at Wesley Community Centers of Savannah, Inc., ages 1-4, were photographed in portraits, as well as the staff. The aim was to focus on a subject’s eyes using shallow depth of field – or shallow focus – on a fixed 50mm lens. You may see unexpected results as features blur into the background when focused sharply on a plane not much bigger than a centimeter or two. Children were photographed in different locations of their classroom with some freedom of movement without any manufactured background. Movement ranged from animated, allowing for moments of gesture and motion. Others were comfortable in their stillness, making subtle transformations in their face and posture. VIEW WESLEY PORTRAITS
Portraits were projected on the big screen to the entire childcare, Wesley Staff and parents in the Wesley Women’s Center auditorium. Special thanks to Don Wood at GNTV for donating screen and sound.
A set of 3 connected triptychs, High Energy, was on display at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability during ArtSeed’s End of Year exhibition, Cottage Industry: Communication, Collaboration, Let’s Beat Poverty and Racism in All Their Forms! A presentation was given to Pine United Methodist Church on August 7, 2015. The High Energy triptych was exhibited at Fall Open Studios at Hunters Point Shipyard. October 18 & 19, 2015.