(Photo by Barbara Peacock)March 12, 2010
Photo District News
Lifestyle and kids photographer Barbara Peacock of Westford, Massachusetts spent several weeks last summer teaching art and photography in Cambodia. Peacock is the founder of a nonprofit organization called The Nightingale Project, which helps the disadvantaged through art. Her partner on this project is Tamison Rose, an artist and former Westford School Committee member. They spent two weeks teaching art and photography to children of orphanages near Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
Peacock was teaching drawing and photography to children at a Buddhist temple in Westford, and the idea of Cambodia seemed to be a perfect starting place for The Nightingale Project. When the Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia from 1975-1979, their systematic genocide and social engineering killed approximately 85 percent of all professional and intellectual people. "If you wore eye glasses you were considered an intellectual and you might be killed. We felt that teaching art in such a country would be greatly needed and welcomed, and it was," says Peacock. Peacock and Tamison were able to raise donations from local Westford residents, including a $500 donation from monk Ajhan David of Wat Buddhahavana of Massachusetts, the Buddhist temple in Westford.
The Nightingale Project's mission is to teach art to children who would never have the opportunity, so orphanages made the most sense on this trip. The goal was to show that art can be produced anywhere with almost any indigenous resources. Peacock and Rose visited one orphanage of 17 children, all of whom were HIV positive. They made their primary focus the orphanage run by the Assistance to Poor Children Agency or APCA. The orphanage, located 40 minutes from Phnom Penh, houses more than 70 children and was founded by two men who met on the Vietnamese border under the regime of Pol Pot. "They provide more than room and board. They are emotionally engaged with the kids and are all about learning right and wrong so there is a sense of family," Rose said. As part of their arts teaching, they also tried to find out what was needed in these villages. In one village, the school desperately needed a toilet, and so with their collected donations they were able to install a toilet with running water and a sink. For the children of APCA they made gifts of beautifully illustrated books on the history of art and Asian art.
The appeal of art is universal. "Art and the process of creative thinking transcend all cultures and languages. With a few hand gestures, a quick demonstration, some warm smiles and a little singing from Ms. Tamison, the children were able to follow along and create beautiful pieces of art," Peacock says. "Merely taking and seeing a digital photograph would produce the biggest look of wonder and massive, joyous smiles. At the end of the day they would say, in well-spoken English, 'I love you in my heart.' And we love them in ours," she adds.
Peacock is planning two trips per year to Cambodia for photographers who would like to "travel with a purpose." They would work with the orphans and the people in the remote villages as well as tour Phnom Penh and travel to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom. As a passionate photographer, Peacock feels that travel feeds an artist with inspiration. For more information about the Nightingale Project and the photographic trips please visit www.thenightingaleproject.com.
Peacock was teaching drawing and photography to children at a Buddhist temple in Westford, and the idea of Cambodia seemed to be a perfect starting place for The Nightingale Project. When the Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia from 1975-1979, their systematic genocide and social engineering killed approximately 85 percent of all professional and intellectual people. "If you wore eye glasses you were considered an intellectual and you might be killed. We felt that teaching art in such a country would be greatly needed and welcomed, and it was," says Peacock. Peacock and Tamison were able to raise donations from local Westford residents, including a $500 donation from monk Ajhan David of Wat Buddhahavana of Massachusetts, the Buddhist temple in Westford.
The Nightingale Project's mission is to teach art to children who would never have the opportunity, so orphanages made the most sense on this trip. The goal was to show that art can be produced anywhere with almost any indigenous resources. Peacock and Rose visited one orphanage of 17 children, all of whom were HIV positive. They made their primary focus the orphanage run by the Assistance to Poor Children Agency or APCA. The orphanage, located 40 minutes from Phnom Penh, houses more than 70 children and was founded by two men who met on the Vietnamese border under the regime of Pol Pot. "They provide more than room and board. They are emotionally engaged with the kids and are all about learning right and wrong so there is a sense of family," Rose said. As part of their arts teaching, they also tried to find out what was needed in these villages. In one village, the school desperately needed a toilet, and so with their collected donations they were able to install a toilet with running water and a sink. For the children of APCA they made gifts of beautifully illustrated books on the history of art and Asian art.
The appeal of art is universal. "Art and the process of creative thinking transcend all cultures and languages. With a few hand gestures, a quick demonstration, some warm smiles and a little singing from Ms. Tamison, the children were able to follow along and create beautiful pieces of art," Peacock says. "Merely taking and seeing a digital photograph would produce the biggest look of wonder and massive, joyous smiles. At the end of the day they would say, in well-spoken English, 'I love you in my heart.' And we love them in ours," she adds.
Peacock is planning two trips per year to Cambodia for photographers who would like to "travel with a purpose." They would work with the orphans and the people in the remote villages as well as tour Phnom Penh and travel to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom. As a passionate photographer, Peacock feels that travel feeds an artist with inspiration. For more information about the Nightingale Project and the photographic trips please visit www.thenightingaleproject.com.
1 comment:
What's wrong with that white girl's hair?
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