In the project *This Space I Inhabit*, the Photographic Expression Movement worked with young people serving custodial sentences*, carrying out the project in six educational centres across the country: the Bela Vista and Navarro de Paiva Educational Centres, both in Lisbon; the Santo António Educational Centre in Porto; the Santa Clara Educational Centre in Vila do Conde; the Padre António Oliveira in Caxias, and the Olivais Educational Centre in Coimbra, using pinhole photography as a technical and personal expression tool.

The aim of this project was to foster self-awareness and social skills through photography, where the young participants began by building their own darkrooms, also known as pinhole cameras, chose the locations to photograph from the spaces where the project was being carried out, whether inside the facility or outside depending on the young people’s circumstances, then developed, edited and finally reflected on the work carried out in a handmade notebook.

*The aim of the placement is to enable the young person, through temporary removal from their usual environment and the use of educational programmes and methods, to internalise values consistent with the law and to acquire resources that will allow them, in the future, to lead their lives in a socially and legally responsible manner.

A BOOK

“Why record a moment we would rather erase?

To speak of the project ‘This Space I Inhabit’ is, however paradoxical it may

seem, to speak of freedom” (Tiago Santos | Educational Psychologist)

The book ‘This Space I Inhabit’ brings together the projects developed, including the images and testimonies of the young people. It is a full-colour publication, punctuated by their accounts, which prompts us to reflect on the transformative potential of photography and creativity. The book will be available at the exhibition and can be purchased (€15)

A CONVERSATION

MIRA FORUM relaunches the online series “Conversation about a photographic project” with Luís Rocha and Tânia Araújo, who will contextualise the project presented in the exhibition and the newly published book within the practice of the MEF.

The virtual conversation will take place on Monday 11 March at 9.30 pm via ZOOM.

In 2020–22, the MEF - Photographic Expression Movement out the project in partnership with the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services – Ministry of Justice and with financial support from novobanco through the campaign ‘An account with gestures that count’.

Exhibition open from 24 February to 30 March 2024

Curated by Manuela Matos Monteiro and João Lafuente

Assistant: Luísa Rosas da Silva

MEF is a non-profit private law association that has been working for around 20 years in the field of visual arts, with a particular focus on photography, aiming to promote an appreciation of the art form among the general public.

It is involved in seeking partnerships with institutions and associations in the field of social empowerment in order to offer training to groups whose access to educational opportunities may be compromised, such as people with visual, motor or mental disabilities, or those who are socially and/or economically disadvantaged.

MEF also facilitates workshops and informal gatherings with other photographers and, through its training activities, seeks to create an inclusive and supportive environment in which dialogue can flourish, critical thinking is fostered, and there is a constructive sharing of photographic experience. We also aim to serve as a support platform so that our members can develop skills in the field of photography and benefit from opportunities to exhibit and promote their work.

Through its initiatives, MEF aims to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities to use photography, democratising access to it and enhancing its value as a creative tool.

http://www.mef.pt/mef/

@movimento.expressao.fotografica @mef.fotografia