Images of the People Project
Student protagonism: schools for, by, and of the students
Bira Carvalho
Aruan Braga
Imagens do Povo
Observatório de Favelas
| Brazil |
December, 2019
The Imagens do Povo (Images of the People) Project and Peripheries Journal are proud to present “Student Protagonism,” a photo essay that places the work of photographers Bárbara Dias and Antônio Dourado, invited contributors to this edition, in dialogue. In the current Brazilian scenario, the dispute for a public education capable of overcoming social inequalities and affirming the potency of the subjects born of the peripheries has shown shown itself to be essential. This group, after all, is the “public” in public schools.
We are witnessing, in Brazil, a sharp reduction in investment in education and the fencing-in of critical thought and action, a trend that will deepen existing hierarchies and social segregation. This essay is born as a response to this moment: first, as an homage to the youth that fight for public schools, and, second, as a provocation meant to encourage students to retake their protagonism in the affirmation of their rights. Present in the photos of this essay as well as in the everyday reality of Brazilian public schools, students demonstrate their capacity to reinvent and transform their schools in the sense of building autonomy, promoting freedom, and encouraging critical thought.
Bira Carvalho | Brazil |
Bira Carvalho is the Coordinator of the Images of the People project at the Favelas Observatory.
birafotos@gmail.com
Imagens do Povo | Brazil |
featured photographers:
Brenda Maria
Natalia Perdomo
Bárbara Dias
Igor Freitas Lima
Renato
Favelas Observatory | |
Founded in 2001, the Favelas Observatory is a public interest civil society organization based in the group of favelas of Maré, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, dedicated to the production of knowledge and methodologies concerning public policies related to the favelas and promoting the right to the city. The institution’s core mission is to construct experiences that overcome inequalities and strengthen democracy from a basis of affirming the favelas and peripheries as territories of potency and rights. We develop programs and projects in the following areas: Right to Life and Public Security, Communication, Art and Territory, Education, and Urban Policies.
