Photography created by local middle school students is on display at Salt Lake Community College’s South City campus. The images showcase what a “Beloved Community” means to the 6th grade photographers from Whittier Elementary and 7th and 8th grade photographers from Glendale Middle School.

The ongoing Beloved Community Project exhibit is part of an annual collaboration between SLCC and K-12 schools (created in 2015). The program aims to connect faculty and students through in-class discussions and presentations to explore notions of community, connection and hope. Oh! And the SLCC faculty members bring cameras for the K-12 students to create their artwork with. 

“This vision comes to life through the perspectives of local elementary and middle school students in SLCC’s annual Beloved Community Photography Project and exhibit,” said Josh Elstein, Director for SLCC’s Center of Arts and Media. 

This year, faculty from SLCC’s School of Arts, specializing in photography and communication, visited the elementary and middle school students to help them explore concepts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a beloved community. 

Students navigated how to visually express what cooperation, unity, and connection means in their own life. 

The opening reception was held on Feb. 27 from 6 to 7 p.m. with live musical performances from SLCC Chamber Singers from 7:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. 

The Beloved Community Photography Project will be on display until April 3 at SLCC’s South City Campus in the  George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Art Gallery (1575 S. State Street). 

The SLCC School of Arts is looking for sponsorships to continue expanding the annual work of the Beloved Community project. Faculty hope to continue increasing the number of participating schools so they can work with more students across a wider range of grades, populations, and socio-economic backgrounds. Funding from sponsorships is intended to go towards project equipment and operational needs.

A corresponding film project, in collaboration with Brolly Arts, explores local voices sharing historic and contemporary viewpoints in connection to Martin Luther King Jr.’s concepts of social equity. 

The film focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas of possibilities to create civil, equitable, and harmonious communities through non-violent social change. Through addressing global issues with local relevance, the filmmakers ask viewers to consider what each individual can do to support social change. The 26-min video, BROLLY - Beloved Community Project - Cut 9, is available through their website at: brollyarts.org

To learn more about The Beloved Community projects including the Photography Exhibit and Brolly Arts Film project, visit: www.slcc.edu/beloved/exhibits