Land and Lens

Vanastree hosted a wonderful experiment from 2017-2019. An experiment where rural youth and women were provided a space to take on something they had never done before. Through self-guided sessions of photography—they were able to look within and without, get past inhibitions and fears, get a different perspective while doing so, and also have fun along the way.

Our Experiment

Land and Lens was a buoyantly-bold experiment with three simple goals:

• Train rural women and youth how to use professional-level cameras
• Through the camera lens—encourage them to fearlessly reveal their land, lives, and inherent creativity
• Provide them venues, as artists, to share their work

Trusting Creativity

Approaching the student photographers as artists, trusting their creativity and intuition yielded unexpectedly advanced work—at that phase of their camera learning skills.

Documenting and Protecting

In documenting and protecting the fragile social and ecological balance of their regions, we consider Land and Lens photographers a critical asset to their host organisations of Vanastree and Punarchith.

Read more about us at the Land and Lens website.