The PhotoVoice Digital Photography Program employs professional photographers to teach participants photography skills and engage students through a series of workshops, class critiques, and field trips.

In 2018, photographers and educators Amanda Adams-Louis and Emily Schiffer, in collaboration with the staff of BCJC, Brooklyn Arts Council, and Photoville, facilitated a series of weekly summer workshops in which students created images from their own unique perspectives. Students produced individual images depicting their view of living in Brownsville, which were printed on postcards so they could be easily shared with friends, family, and community members.

In 2013, teaching artists, Russell Frederick and Sam Barzilay facilitated a series of workshops, class critiques, and field trips. Students crafted visual stories from their own unique perspectives and their final projects were presented in the form of a book, designed by the students to engage the public on topics that inspire or concern them. Students have found new and different ways of voicing their perspectives and asserting themselves as experts in their individual and community needs. The students’ final projects also culminated in a public-art exhibit presented in the neighborhood.

The goals of this program were to empower participants, inform policy-makers, and raise awareness about issues facing these young people. Participatory photography gives youth the opportunity to connect in a visual dialogue that often excludes them.