On Sunday, Feb. 2, at 3 pm the West Tisbury library will present Melissa Knowles, a photographer, curator, and therapeutic arts educator, as she shows her most recent work with some of Tanzania’s most vulnerable children. According to a press release,thanks to a sponsorship from the Roberto and Clorinda Romano Foundation, Knowles spent three weeks at Precious Project, a school and orphanage in the rural village of Nshupu, that is transforming the lives of children through education. Melissa introduced the benefits of artmaking to children and teachers, traveled to local communities, and took photographs for a summer 2020 exhibit and fundraiser.
Knowles will share the life circumstances of the children she has come to know through storytelling and photography, and help us all to see ourselves in the daily lives of our global neighbors. This presentation occurs within the broader context of her work with Media Voices for Children, an Island nonprofit that advocates for the world’s most vulnerable children through moving and still imagery. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments served.
Melissa Knowles is a humanitarian photographer, curator, and therapeutic-arts educator. For the past three years, as a board member for Media Voices for Children, she has curated photography exhibits “Beneath the Barcode,” now being developed into a national curriculum, and “Our Children,” currently on display at the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse.
Her exhibits are designed to give voice to the vulnerable, and give others a chance to understand something of their life circumstances, providing a potentially powerful platform for advocacy and healing. For more information, please visit melissaknowles.org.