Visual Griots 
(griot n.- a storyteller in West Africa who perpetuates the oral traditions of a family or village)

STUDENT PHOTO EXHIBIT: Images of a rural Malian village, as seen through the eyes of its children. who participated in Visual Griots: Mali.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: On-the-ground observations by Shawn Davis, who coordinated the inaugural Visual Griots workshop in Mali for AED. ALL PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE WERE TAKEN BY NESTOR HERNANDEZ.

 Visual Griots is an international program to promote community cultural development and mutual understanding among young people through the art of photography. Interactive workshops empower youth to communicate what is important about themselves and their communities, using a medium that cuts across language barriers. Skilled educators, photographers, and community leaders engage young people in a powerful process of self-exploration and expression through the lens of a camera.    

“Training young people in visual literacy through the concrete process of taking photographs, and providing them the mechanism to document their own lives represents an important and innovative development strategy for youth empowerment.”
—Mary Jo Arnoldi, Curator, Smithsonian Institution

Making Global Connections
Through Visual Griots, students’ photographs can communicate across cultural and international borders via traveling exhibits, school presentation kits, and workshop curricula. Students who participate in a Visual Griots workshop or view a Visual Griots exhibit connect with their own communities, view their customs and culture from a new perspective, and gain an appreciation for the similarities and differences shared by their peers in other countries.

"AED's exchange programs often transform participants. But it is especially satisfying to see the pride these children had in sharing their images with their community—and the pride the community had in the photos their young people produced."
—Beverly Attallah, vice president and director, AED Center for International Exchanges.

Visual Griots-Mali: A Strategy for Success
In January 2005, the Visual Griots inaugural workshop engaged 22 dynamic sixth graders from Mali in an exploration of the powerful “voice” of photography. An expert team of Malian and U.S. photographers guided the students through camera basics to use their new-found skill to honor the people and traditions of their village. Students took ownership of the project and created a body of work that demystifies the African village and brings forth the important elements of their lives.

“We must stop thinking that everything must arrive on a wave from the West, and realize that we are capable of creating an image of our own that can ride its own wave in the opposite direction.”
—Alioune Ba, Workshop Instructor; Photographer, National Museum of Mali

For more information on Visual Griots, contact Shawn Davis.