As a lover of the classic candid shot and a striking, raw portrait, not so surprisingly, I enjoyed the photography and overall feel of the “Multi-Disciplinary Exhibition” ‘Expresion Creativa.’ The exhibition featured photography, handmade posters and a timeline regarding the history of the Dominican Republic, all with traditional music playing in the background.
The students spent a significant amount of their time at a local school, Escuela Comunal Paraiso located in north Santo Domingo, helping to boost the impoverished students morale in varying ways. Pictures document the Honors College students painting a colorful and lively mural onto one of the school’s walls and the picture displayed next to it shows two children observing the finished painting. Eamon Brockenbrough said one of the major goals of the trip was to “form a partnership with the school for continued visits from the Honors College in years to come.”
Each student contributed to the exhibit accordingly depending upon their major and interests. Carson Reeher and Brockenbrough were responsible for the photography of the people and sites of Santo Domingo. Psychology and math major, Sarah Kessler worked to make inspiring posters written in both Spanish and English to hang around the school, and History major Joseph Burns made a hanging timeline detailing the establishment of the country, it’s leaders over the decades, conflicts and so forth.
The collection of 26 motivational posters was accompanied by a paper stating the rather dismal educational statistics in the Dominican Republic, as opposed to those in the United States. Just to list a few stunning stats: the average years of schooling in the U.S. is 12.94 while in Dominican Republic that number is almost half that, 7.64 years. Furthermore, the dropout rate is triple that of the U.S. coming in at a frightening 25.16 percent.
Kessler said that “Female students become pregnant at very young ages, forcing them to dropout. In turn, their significant other drops out as well so that he may get a job to support his new family.” Kessler spoke to a girl who was fourteen years old and pregnant with her third child, something that would make headlines in the U.S. is seen as something to be proud of in their country. “It is seen as becoming a mature adult,” says Kessler.
Also featured in the exhibit, were a few pictures taken by Brockenbrough’s young friend and Santo Domingo native, Catherine. Catherine and Brokenbrough became acquaintances after she expressed an interest in taking pictures with his camera. Despite a language barrier limiting their communications, Catherine snapped some impressive pictures after learning how to use the camera in just two school days- a testament to how if given the opportunity and resources, a child is capable of learning just about anything.
‘Expresion Creativa’ teetered between an attractive art exhibit and a much needed reminder of how privileged many of us are. It was clear that Longwood University students didn’t view this trip to the Dominican Republic as pure leisure, but ultimately as a chance to reach out and establish a connection with a school and a community far from our own, while asserting a positive influence in the lives of local students.
