← CommUnity Project
CommUnity Project · Work package 02
Youth Creative CommUnity: self-portrait photography with young Muslim women
Photography courses for girls and young women in Rotterdam, organised by IDEIS with the ROSA ROYA Foundation and taught by photographer Annegien Haselager. Through self-portraits, participants explored their identity and how they relate to the people and the world around them.
≈ 80
participants
13
groups
8–30
age range of the participants
2
series of lessons, in person and online
About the work package
- Part of
- CommUnity Project, IDEIS
- Partner
- ROSA ROYA Foundation, a community of young Moroccan women in Rotterdam
- Photography teacher
- Annegien Haselager, photographer, who guided the participants through the course
- Period
- In person on 15 and 29 November 2020; online from 22 to 30 May 2021, individually or in small groups
- Focus
- Self-portraits, in which participants are subject, maker and viewer of their own work
The self-portrait in three steps
01
“I”
How do I see myself? Participants asked what is essential to them.
02
“Me and the other”
How do others see me? The course looked at how society perceives the participants.
03
“Me and the world”
Where do I belong? Participants placed themselves in Dutch society and in Europe, sometimes through landscapes or street scenes rather than faces.
Alongside the assignments, Haselager taught the basics of the craft: composition, light, sharpness and the golden ratio.
From the course
Results
- The course met with great enthusiasm and active participation.
- Participants gained new insight into photography as a means of self-expression.
- The self-portrait assignments prompted deep reflection on identity and self-esteem.