On My Radar: NYC Bridge Project & People Giving A Shit

 

Hyperlocal election coverage and citizen journalism was at an all time high in the days leading up to and after this year’s historic presidential election. For many, this was an opportunity to document a part of history from their own perspective and to share it with the world through twitter feeds, blogs, and cellphone videos that were posted on the internet within minutes of the results.

Other citizen journalists had been preparing for the historic day and were anticipating the opportunity to put plans of content aggregation in action.

NYC Bridge Project co-founders Bashira Webb and Danny Peralta took their students to Harlem on November 4th to photograph local residents who were voting – many for the first time – and to record their stories for a multimedia project entitled “Election ’08: Voices of Harlem” that will soon be available to view on Current TV.

Webb and Peralta’s work culminates a year of collaborative effort between themselves, their students, and the International Center of Photography (ICP) who awarded the grant in early 2007. These Bronx residents were committed to teaching photography skills and providing mentorship opportunities to local youth who are desire to document their world, through their eyes.
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