Luscious photographer Hugh Hartshorne assists with creative education project Jerrinja Exposed

Luscious photographer Hugh Hartshorne was the mentor for a recent creative project -Jerrinja Exposed, a community education program supporting the indigenous youth of the Jerrinja Tribe in the South Coast of NSW.

The team worked tirelessly developing a creative education program teaching photography and graphic design to the children.

Says Pip Mackenzie, EP, Luscious: “Hugh wanted to share the love for his craft and the aim was to up-skill the children that were interested in photography and teach them the technical skills they would need to progress in this field and to understand the history, culture and language of their tribe. This was a 10 week program, held every Saturday in Culburra.

“The youths went on different field trips to various sacred sites and captured images of the sites and their elders.”

Says Alex McNeilly, project manager, Jerrinja Exposed: “It has been truly inspiring seeing the young people in this project learn and develop their very own digital photographic story connected to their own culture and language.”

Says Hartshorne: “The creative talent in this young group is so impressive. They got right into the technical side of the camera and developed digital editing skills to produce beautiful photographs of their local country and community. Congratulations to all the young artists for a creative job well done.”

Says Monica Willis, event manager: “The recent launch event in September saw hundreds of people come together to celebrate the final 100 works by the young artists. Everyone enjoyed the atmosphere in Nowra with music, gelato, food and a cool creative space for the artwork to be displayed. It has been a wonderful project for everyone involved.

Says Alfred Wellington, CEO of the Jerrinja Aboriginal Land Council: “This project is very important and connected to our strategic plan to strengthen our culture. Congratulations to all of the young artists for producing such wonderful work for all of the community to enjoy. Thank you to the project crew Alex McNeilly, Monica Willis, Hugh Hartshorne, Peter Wilson plus our Jerrinja elders and cultural mentors for their hard work and for making this project happen.

Projects like Jerrinja Exposed are a great initiative for creative leaders to share their knowledge with the youth of today to help improve their future prospects.