Student photo show puts Springfield in new light

An art project by students at Community College of Vermont in Springfield spurred some surprising feelings, and photos, from the artists.

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Student Photo Show Puts Springfield In New Light By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN • 18 HOURS AGO SHARETwitter Facebook Google+ Email Michelle Wormwood stands in front of her photographs at the Photovoice show in Springfield. Michelle Wormwood stands in front of her photographs at the Photovoice show in Springfield. HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN / VPR Listen Listening...0:00 An art project by students at Community College of Vermont in Springfield spurred some surprising feelings, and photos, from the artists. The students were asked to use their cameras to record the conditions of this post-industrial town. And there was plenty to document in a town that has abandoned factories, signs of drug use and urban neglect. But when the class decided to look for positive signs things took a new surprising turn. Michelle Wormwood is a student in the CCV class — "Interpersonal and Small Group Communications." The way she explains it, the project took on a new direction after the first round of images highlighted too many broken windows, peeling walls and cracked sidewalks. "We felt that it was becoming too negative," Wormwood says. "So then we were like, all right, we need to shed a positive light on Springfield. And then the whole project did a 180." Deb Grant is the teacher who led the class of 25 students. Grant says the "Photovoice" project brought the students out into the community, and the cameras gave them a way to look at Springfield in a new light. She says it wasn't a photography class, so the students didn't work on their imaging skills or techniques. A photograph from the project by Dagan Warner. CREDIT COURTESY OF DAGAN WARNER Instead, the images were used to spur conversation, and to get the students to recognize their role in making Springfield a better place. "It actually became a project that helped people learn to invest in their own community," Grant says. "And that was not the intention of this, and there was certainly no push for that. It evolved out of it, and that was a huge surprise." The show still has plenty of images portraying Springfield's rusting past, but Grant says there's attitude and hope as well. In one photo a young woman stands defiantly in front of a wall of graffiti. In another a sliver of faded grass seems to challenge the hulking factory that looms over it. And with a back turned to the town, one photo captures the natural beauty of southern Vermont that surrounds the region. Grant says the students were able to see beyond the decay, and take ownership of what they can do to work toward a more positive future. Tammy Caggiano, in foreground, talks about her photos with Tapp Barnhill, who works for CCV. CREDIT HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN / VPR "I really thought we were going to identify some real concerns, make recommendations on how those very participants can move into action on their own," she says. "And although they did come up with some recommendations, it was more like, you know what, this is a pretty nice place to live, and we got some troubles, but, we can work on them." The photographs will be on display until the end of July in The Great Hall, which is located near the Springfield Health Center.