5th Grade Students Open Photography Exhibit at The Coupe Tues. Night

From a press release:

“What is worth preserving for posterity? 5th graders in Ms. Ronda Scott’s class at Raymond Education Campus explored this question while learning about the role that conservators and photographers play in preserving and maintaining the U.S. Capitol. On Tuesday, May 6th at 6:30pm, students will open an exhibit of their photographs at The Coupe restaurant (3415 11th St NW). Students will lead a 30 minute presentation about this project which included several lessons and a trip to the Capitol led by Live It Learn It (LILI) and a photography workshop taught by Charles Badal, photographer with the Architect of the Capitol. Students were challenged with capturing elements that are worth preserving of the Capitol, their neighborhood, their school and their personal lives using cameras on loan from Nikon Professional Services. The result is an exhibition in which the Brumidi Corridors of the Capitol are juxtaposed with a prized Wrestlemania t-shirt since students thought both should be preserved.

LILI designed and managed this exhibition through its Pathways to Professions program. LILI has worked with high poverty DCPS schools for the past 9 years to create engaging and rigorous academic trips that augment classroom learning. The Pathways to Professions program is designed to expose students to careers in an engaging and hands-on way. “What better way to learn about conservators or photographers than to actively try your hands at becoming one?” says Chris Magnuson, LILI’s Director of Innovation. LILI’s intensive programs have earned awards from the Catalogue of Philanthropy, CharityWorks, and the Lehrman Foundation. “Most importantly,” said LILI Executive Director Matthew Wheelock, “we have also earned the enthusiastic support of students and teachers throughout Washington, DC. As one teacher put it, “Live It Learn It is an awesome program that exposes our children to the richness that DC has to offer.”

This exhibition will run from May 6th to June 30th at The Coupe. “We are excited to host a community event in which students in the neighborhood can see their own work on display,” says Maxwell Hessman, General Manager at The Coupe.

During the opening event, students will share what they learned and offer advice on taking good photographs. 5th grader, Monica Walters says that students participating in this program next year should “expect to learn about the U.S. Capitol and how the conservators play an important role in preserving it. [Students] will also learn how photographers preserve the capitol by taking photos of what goes on inside and outside of the capitol.” Monica’s classmate, Andy Amaya says “the advice that I will give about taking good photographs is to try to find the beauty or history of the picture.”