Background:
The Young Lens Syria Project was established on May 28th 2012.Young people act as citizen photojournalists documenting life in Syria for those still living in Syria and enduring the bombings and shelling of their communities.
This project is to mount an exhibition of photos (all taken by young Syrians) to raise awareness of their plight and raise addtional funds for photographic equipment. The courage of these young people is amazing and sadly several have already paid with their lives.
You can find out more about the original project in Syria here:
Website: http://dimashqilens.com/en/photosFacebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LensYoungdimashqi/Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lensdamascus/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lensdimashqi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimashqi/Google+ http://goo.gl/enrZ9Tumblr: http://lensdimashqi.tumblr.com/
Why an exhibition?
Few of us can go to Syria (or would wish to under whilst the current situation is so dangerous) but many of us want to understand the situtation, especailly as we see heart-wrenching stories on our news daily. Photography is a powerful medium and it has been said that "an image is worth a thousand words". Though we can't speak face to face with the youth of Syria about their lives under conflict, we can at least see something of their lives through their eyes as it were, by the miracle of photography.
An exhibition will help give voice to these brave young photojournalists and help us see something of what life is like on a daily basis for them. As well as a static exhibition we hope to show a film and to have speakers who have direct experience of life in Syria since the conflict began.
Why not just give money for relief work?
The young people want the world to see these images and have posted them on the web via various social media (see links above). This should certainly be the first stop for anyone interested in learning more about the situation. However, nothing quite beats seeing large prints up close and an exhibition can leave a long-lasting impression and remain with us for a long time. Social media, by its very nature, tends to leave only a fleeting impression before we move on to the next post or Instagram image.
All monies raised will go to the cost of printing and framing prints. We aim to have between 30 and 40 large images professionally printed and framed. We already have had discussions about showing the exhibition in galleries and community spaces such as churches and community centres.
Any surplus monies raised, together with donations and monies raised from sale of prints, cards etc will go directly to Syria to help provide photographic equipment, computers, mobile phones etc. We also hope to provide funds for humanitarian aid but as there are numerous ongoing appeals (Oxfam, Christian Aid, Red Cross etc) this is a secondary aim.