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Seattle--as seen through the eyes of 35 children from local Boys & Girls Clubs--was interpreted on film and culminated in a gallery event at the Seattle Art Museum on November 19, 2002. Corbis--a leading provider of digital images based in Bellevue, Washington--made the whole project happen. This organization partnered with five Seattle-area Boys & Girls Clubs to produce a photography project that articulated the childrens' ideas about their local community, friends, family and life in general. "It's just one of those projects you get great pleasure out of doing," remarked Steve Davis, CEO of Corbis. "It's a community effort and really empowers the children by giving them tools in photography to achieve this."

Seattle was interpreted in various ways through the lenses of kids from five local Boys and Girls Clubs. "Screwy and Scratchy" by Phoenix.

Gallery Event
The "My Seattle" event at the Seattle Art Museum featured Pulitzer-Prize-winning photojournalist David Hume Kennerly as guest speaker. Kennerly is lauded for his vast body of work, which encompasses over a million images taken in more than 130 countries during his 36-year career. During his appearance at the gallery event in November, Kennerly discussed the children's work and talked about "The role of documentary photography in a free society." His exhibit, "Photo du Jour: A Picture-A-Day Journey Through the First Year of the New Millennium" was recently on display at the Smithsonian Arts and Industry Building in Washington, D.C.

"Donell and Kierra Havin' Fun" by Aisha T.

King County Boys and Girls Clubs President and CEO Daniel Johnson presided over the gallery event, which featured an image from each of the 35 children who participated in the "My Seattle" project. Johnson stated, "The camera project really engaged the children to consider their own, individual perspectives, and then to express them visually." This event was a great opportunity for these children to take pride in having their work displayed in a prestigious venue, as well as "the first time for some of them to visit this venue," according to Davis.

"Fall Beauty" by Ashley, from the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club.

The Project
In October, 2002, Corbis provided single-use cameras to 35 Boys & Girls members who ranged in ages from approximately 10--13 years old. These children represented five Boys & Girls Club locations throughout the Seattle area. Their assignment was to photograph Seattle, thus each child could document his or her own unique view of life in the community.

Left: "Untitled" by Catherine, from the Southwest chapter. Right: "The Walk" by Dorianna, from the Rotary branch.