Photography for Social Inclusion for ASPRONA-Valencia

“Photography could be that dim light that modestly helps us change things.”

Eugene Smith

No, we are not all the same.

That’s a lie.

Some individuals face challenges such as limited economic resources. Others have scarce personal skills or constrained social skills. Among them are those who may not believe in the possibility of changing the world or in people living harmoniously with equal opportunities and rights, despite recognizing our differences.

We firmly believe in the possibility of change. Our conviction is that the world can indeed change, even if it happens gradually. The group of people I’m discussing in today’s blog share this belief and are well aware of it.

ASPRONA is the Valencian Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities. They have run a project subsidized by the European Social Fund called DINS (within) for a few years. Integrated roadmaps for the socio-labor integration of people with disabilities.

Within these roadmaps, professionals understand that to change the world and achieve equal opportunities, change has to start from within: Dins (within) because it’s not cool outside. And so, working from within, we have collaborated with them, embodying contemporary artists of the 21st century, using identity as a form of personal expression, drawing from what we know, understand, and observe.

And so, we launched the photography workshop as a tool for empowerment and social inclusion.

These were our educational objectives:

1. To learn about the possibilities of photography as a resource to discover and express oneself in a creative, artistic, and documentary way.
2. To adapt the photographic tool, making it a visible and empowering instrument for individual and collective expression.
3. To use photography as a tool for discovery and personal empowerment.
4. To discover the advantages of collaborative work.
5. To show the productive and social system the qualities, capacities, and resources of the project’s participants.

Today, in the middle of the post-photography era, photography has two fundamental advantages: accessibility and immediacy.

Anyone can create or work with an image regardless of their age or skills. Photography enables expression for individuals who may face challenges in communicating verbally. It is an easy and everyday tool; the result is immediately visible.

As a tool, photography is aligned with humanistic, gestalt, or integrative approaches.

With photography, we can create a new way of perceiving and feeling the world. It is grounded in the premise that displaying, realizing, becoming aware, and expressing oneself are therapeutic and empowering actions. Knowing who you are, where you are now, and where you want to go in life gives you great personal strength.

Photography, when used with groups at risk of social exclusion, brings about transformations through empowerment and visibility:

• It gives a voice to those who lack it, enabling expression through images.
• It strengthens, brings visibility, and fosters social inclusion, bridging gaps with other realities and environments.
• It increases social empathy and potential appreciation, nullifies prejudices, and destigmatizes.

y employing participatory photography and group techniques, we aimed to embody the punk spirit. We’ve initiated straightforward and rebellious projects, adhering to the punk philosophy: do it your way, reject dogmas, and disdain fashion. 

In 2020, given the unique circumstances related to the health crisis and to safeguard the health and safety of participants, the proposal was conducted entirely remotely, incorporating the following activities:

• A daily auditory and visual experience, including audio notes, training in contemporary art, exercises, activities, and music.
• Daily support for the work undertaken, including creating photographs and texts.
• Three face-to-face online videoconferences to monitor the activities, further explain the contents, and create a group activity.

Photography has allowed our 16 participants to capture fragments of their lives, portraying their present and providing an accessible means to express, communicate, showcase, and articulate their human, sensitive, and aesthetic concerns—with complete autonomy.

We have witnessed a precise and exhilarating process where enthusiasm, smiles, and discovery have taken center stage. Because creating and communicating means being an active part of the society to which you belong.

We are convinced that artistic education enables personal and social transformations. In this regard, photographic practice can actively promote social change.

This project has been a journey of asking questions, learning, discovering the essentials, creating images, looking at them, and breaking the silence about societal expectations versus our true selves.

Whoever doesn’t believe in the potential for change in the world is an imbecile.

Thank you to the entire professional team at ASPRONA—Ester, Raúl, and María—for making this possible, and to all the participants for your joy, sincerity, and authenticity.