2020 Factory Fellowship
Student Exhibition
This summer, 30 students were selected to participate in this year's Factory Fellowship. Throughout the summer, they were actively engaged in our remote-learning programs that provided them with Fellowship Kits which included disposable cameras, sketchbooks, art supplies and handouts featuring shooting ideas and ways to promote self-care, along with snacks. The students had access to one-on-one mentorship during this 8 week fellowship and received a stipend. This online exhibition features photos they have created during their Fellowship. Thank you to the Cleveland Foundation for their support of our Arts Mastery Teen Institute. Photos will also be featured in public art through a special grant that promotes community collections generously funded by the Fay Slover Fund at the Boston Foundation.
Thank you to our Mentors: John Carlson, Aja Grant, Da’Shaunae Jackson, Melinda Placko, Helen Severovich, and Julia Van Wangenen.
Rebecca Abramovich
Anabel Bach
Mecca Bahabib
Alaishyia Bonner
Margaux Butzback
Changes
Empty office buildings
On the side of the road,
All the busy workers,
Now working from home.
Flatten the curve,
Do what they say,
So that this virus,
Will go away.
Social distance,
Keep your space,
If you cannot then cover your face.
Staying connected,
Though not face to face,
No matter the time,
No matter the case.
Keep your head above water,
Take the bridge over fear
And don’t be afraid,
The cure could be near.
We’re in this together,
We’ll work as a team,
Together forever,
Soon living the dream.
Emmett Hallsman
Coniah Hanley
Tevyah Hanley
Nolan Hortan
Satya Lane
The thing that inspires me in photography is The Sun. I started off just taking photos of the sun by itself. I then decided to start making my photos more interesting by putting a glass vase in a windowsill and the sun reflected off the glass and it looked like two Suns. My mentor inspired
me to try putting some differently shaped glasses in the window or outside and look at the shapes they made. I loved what happened to the light through the glass. It created reflections of dots, plants, and in some the light just bent in fascinating ways because of the way the glass
was cut. What I love about the sun is that it livens up the world and without it the world would be dark and cold.
Zavianna Lane
Ancient cultures lived with the earth and respected it. When an animal was killed, whether purposely or accidentally, the whole animal would be utilized, from the bones to the fur. Our society has now attempted to take over the earth and instead of being kind to it, has taken it for
granted and disrespected it.
When you don't respect something, or nurture it to allow it to grow, it begins to slowly die. That is what we have done to this earth. We have taken it for granted and slowly, very slowly, have killed it. We have been destroying the earth for so long that it is to the point where we need to
do something about it, before what we have done is irreversible.
Our lives are busy. We are doing so many things and we don’t always stop and notice what is around us. We don’t see the details. By capturing a moment in time with photographs of the pollution, of the waste or destruction of our world, I hope to make people notice what we have
done to our planet earth.
My work captures the major human impact of pollution. The images reflect what we are doing to the world. Right now especially, I feel it is important to take a look at what we have done to this planet, and perhaps in looking we may start to change our destructive ways and ultimately save the environment and planet.
Gabrielle Murray
In this “new normal” I’ve chosen to focus on every day scenes that look nothing as they should. I collaged newspaper clippings onto images of these places and all the newsprint relates back to the changes faced in each one. Closures, restrictions, mandates. Adding another layer, I used transparent images of normal times at these locations. These images were cut in the shape of COVID-19 to show what the virus has taken away from us.
Jacob Nathan
Kylah Newell
Maya Peroune
Zachary Richard
Owen Rodemann
Nina Serna
Hailey Shimrock
Van Weinmann
I set out on this project trying to find abandoned buildings that I could give life to with my images. I took pictures of abandoned gas stations, neglected funeral homes, and desolate parking lots. I travelled around Cleveland and found graffiti, broken down buildings, and other signs of desertion. One site I visited was an old observatory that has not been in use for years. The building is covered in greenery and graffiti lines nearly every wall. I took a number of pictures inside and out, but one caught my eye while I was editing. The picture I took featured a spray-painted tag on one wall reading “I’ve been dead inside.” I realized that this was meant as a human emotion, but could apply to both people and the places I was photographing. Just as the various sites throughout my city, people can feel ‘dead inside’ when neglected. This was an interesting connection and I decided to name my project ‘Dead Inside,” based on that one eye-catching image.
Nathan Wilkins
