“Paint Your Mind” is the name of one of the exercises we conducted last November at ASPRONA, the Valencian Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities, as part of the Dins Project: “Photography Workshop as an Empowerment Tool for Social Inclusion.”
Photography, as a therapeutic tool, aims to enhance the health, well-being, and personal growth of individuals through the utilization or creation of images.
Photography, since its invention, has changed our lives in every way, what we know, how we represent ourselves, what we discover and document.
Can images change the world we live in?
This great question can haunt those who make documentary photography, those who find spaces, places and communities in the world that need help or global support, and those who say that what is happening can’t happen in an ethical and civilized society.
We are firmly convinced that photography can bring about significant change. So, when psychologist Concha Sánchez invited us to collaborate on integration and inclusion activities for minors, we didn’t hesitate—despite it being August, we knew it would be worth it.
Have you ever thought about how you are? Who are you? If you are where you want to be? Typically, we don’t reflect on how we are, what makes us happy or brightens our days, unless something breaks our stability.
Want to start a photography project but don’t know where to start?
Would you like to build and develop your photography project authentically?
Many people spend their lives not doing what they truly wish, believing they must follow what they are expected to do rather than what they truly want.
It was a great find. Few books speak so clearly about the processes of therapeutic photography and the use of photography in personal spaces and social intervention.
A photograph is where the interests and desires of the viewer intersect, and these are just as important for the person taking the photo as they are for the viewer. Sometimes, the message aligns, and sometimes, it does not. That is why photography, rich in meaning for both the photographer and the viewer, is always an OPPORTUNITY.
