BRATTLEBORO — The In-Sight Photography Project will hold its Family Open House on Friday, Sept. 4, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. during Gallery Walk. The open house gives area youth and their families a chance to meet staff, see what goes on at In-Sight, and learn about upcoming classes.
Held at 45 Flat Street in downtown Brattleboro, the open house features hands-on activities, such as creating a photogram in In-Sight's darkroom. Student work will be on exhibit, along with video presentations from summer classes. Staff and students will demonstrate how to use cameras and other classroom equipment. Refreshments, tours, and an optional digital portrait-by-donation are offered for all visitors.
The Open House also marks the launch of the 2015 Lakota Quilt Raffle. This queen-sized quilt, made by Oglala Lakota Sioux seamstress Andrea Marshall, is a beautiful example of a morning star quilt which has become an important figure in Sioux ceremonies. It represents the direction from which spirits travel to earth and is a link between the living and the dead, thus symbolizing immortality.
Today, star quilts are one of the most valued gifts of the Sioux people, often made for “give-away” events such as memorial feasts, funerals, celebrations, naming ceremonies, and marriages. For In-Sight, the quilt symbolizes a link between Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and Vermont, and a celebration of the connection through the Exposures program.
Tickets for the quilt are priced one for $5, five for $20, thirty for $100. Tickets are available at In-Sight Photography Project at 45 Flat Street in Brattleboro, or on the In-Sight website at www.insight-photography.org/insight/support, or at Brattleboro Pharmacy, located at 413 Canal Street in Brattleboro, the sponsor of the raffle. The drawing is on Dec. 4 at Gallery Walk, and ticket sales are limited to 300 – which means that if you buy 30 tickets, you have a 1-in-10 chance of winning the quilt.
The In-Sight Photography Project teaches photography to youth in the tri-state area and beyond, regardless of their ability to pay. In-Sight offers students a creative voice and outlet, tools for self-awareness and self-worth, and encouragement to become actively engaged in their communities.
In-Sight is also the home of Exposures, a cross-cultural exchange program that uses the arts as a common language among youth from diverse communities. Exposures has brought together youth from across the country both online and at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Since 1992, In-Sight has served more than 2,500 youth.