PictureThis!

About HCP / News

Houston, TX – Houston Center for Photography announces its fifth annual PictureThis! Outreach Exhibition, on display in the HCP Learning Center Gallery July 20 – August 19, 2007. PictureThis! is a collaborative venture with The Children’s Hospital at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston that results in an exhibition of the students’ work in the HCP gallery. This year’s projects include a Polaroid alphabet scavenger hunt, Projected Drawing Project, and Photogram project.

Each year, PictureThis! evolves as students and technology change. The HCP and M.D. Anderson staff annually create new projects, taking into consideration the students’ interests as well as the current photographic resources available. Student age ranges from six to sixteen, and consequently each project is approached from a variety of different perspectives and must be accessible to a wide range of maturity levels. Past projects include the creation of storybooks, flip books, photo quilts, collages, a Polaroid® image wall, and even a scavenger hunt.

This year’s Polaroid projects included an alphabet scavenger hunt, where students were challenged to photograph every letter of the alphabet through creative representation, a Take-Home Scavenger Hunt where students explore their space outside of the hospital, and Altered Portraits where students changed their appearance on the photo. Digital Photography was brought into the classroom via the Projected Drawing Project. Images from the internet and of the students were projects onto the wall and students were asked to draw their favorite parts. The final image resulted in a collage drawing. The Fragmented Portrait Project also had the students inventing new creations. Using portraits they had taken the week before, students created new people by combing the heads, torsos, and feet of different people or objects. As the counter weight to the digital project, students were taken outside to learn the historic process of cyanotypes by creating photograms. Random objects were places on top of coated paper and exposed to the sun creating “blue photos.” The Art Car Parade was the inspiration for the next project. Each student was given a toy car to decorate in a theme using at least one photograph found in magazines or photos they had taken.

Selections from these projects will be represented during the PictureThis! Exhibition July 20 – August 19 in the HCP Learning Center Gallery. Admission to the gallery is free. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday 11am – 5pm and Saturday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm.

The Houston Center for Photography’s PictureThis! program is a collaborative venture with The Children’s Hospital at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston. This program has successfully integrated photography into the hospital’s art curriculum since 2002. HCP annually hosts an eight-week program at the hospital, as well as a weekend workshop at Camp A.O.K., a summer place run by the Cancer Clinic for patients in Magnolia, Texas. The work created by students during PictureThis! is later displayed at HCP during an annual exhibition. The students at The Children’s Hospital range from ages 6 – 16 years old.

Important Upcoming Events

July 20 – Opening Reception, Fellowship Exhibition and PictureThis! Outreach Exhibition,

6 – 8pm, Exhibition continues, July 21 – August 19

August 24 – SPIN 3, Txt Me L8r with Aurora Picture Show, 8-11pm

Related Files

PictureThis! PR (pdf)