Affirming Identity & Breaking Down Stereotypes
We have now collected the 34 teen portraits that hung in the inaugural SEEN: Affirming Identity & Breaking Down Stereotypes exhibition at Gallery ONE88. Designed in response to our 2024 Problems That Matter focus on issues that affect young people, SEEN sought to provide Blue Mountains teens with an opportunity for expression, connection, and to celebrate creativity.
The 34 portraits were on display for two weeks at Gallery ONE88 in Katoomba and showcased the work of students from St Columba’s Catholic College, Katoomba High School, Kindlehill High School, Sydney Distance Education High School, and the home school community.
Young people from across the Blue Mountains were invited to participate and the call for submissions was preceded by a free photography workshop with local photographer Maja Baska. 12 young people gathered at Gallery ONE88 on a Saturday afternoon in September to experiment with light, composition, and portrait design. An initial sense of trepidation and wariness among strangers quicky dissolved into a creative and curious sharing of ideas and experimentation. The submission deadline was a month later; teens were invited to submit a portrait of themselves or a friend that affirms identity, breaks down stereotypes, and responds to the question ‘How do you want to be SEEN?’. Portraits were submitted with a statement by the artist, articulating what they wanted to say with their image.
Opening night was attended by a broad cross-section of our community – standing in a packed main-street gallery filled with young people from different schools and backgrounds gathered to share and celebrate their stories felt good and right. In his welcome to country, Uncle Chris Tobin thanked these young people for their courage and generosity and expressed how moved he was by their work. The event was also attended by the Artistic Programs Manager of the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre and members of Blue Mountains City Council’s Community & Social Planning and Youth Services teams.
When arrived at the gallery to collect the works, Sharon greeted us with a warm and open smile, keen to share stories of the conversations she’d had with people who’d come through the exhibition. Visitors were moved by the depth and honesty of the statements that accompanied the works and spoke of the collective power and positivity of the exhibition. Gallery ONE88 have affirmed their interest in hosting this exhibition annually and expanding the concept to explore the identity of other groups in our community.
Problems That Matter seeks to address real world problems, build partnerships, and draw on the knowledge that resides in our community. As we walked away from the gallery yesterday, celebrating the connections that we have made through this process and already talking about possibilities for next year’s workshop and exhibition, we stopped and took stock: with the support and engagement of our community, we have achieved what we set out to do.
We are deeply grateful to the 34 young people who contributed their portraits and stories to our exhibition, to Gallery ONE88 for their generous embracing and support of this project, and to Blue Mountains City Council for their sponsorship of our photography workshop.
We thank everyone who came to see our work.
This is who we are.
This is how we want to be SEEN.
