The Beloved Community photo exhibit is currently open and will be available for viewing until March 28 inside Salt Lake Community College’s South City Campus.
The exhibit, located in the George S. & Dolores Dore Eccles Art Gallery on the northeast side, features photography by students from multiple elementary and middle schools.
According to the media advisory, the initial concept of the gallery intended to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s idea of a “beloved community” and how to live in harmony with one another.
SLCC faculty visited various local schools in their quest to define a “beloved community” from a youth’s perspective. Each picture is lovingly taken by a student and submitted to the gallery, with thoughtful, heartwarming statements accompanying several photos.
One photo by Maile L. depicted a gecko on a wooden railing. The student’s statement further described that the photo was important to their definition of “beloved community” because it depicted where their late grandfather would sit to watch for chickens and other animals.
Many students were in attendance for the opening ceremony. 7th grader Daniela Jinenez and her parents, Carla and Fabian, were excited to see her work displayed at the exhibition.
Daniela said that she and her grandparents sent pictures of sunsets to each other regularly. Her art teacher recommended she enter it to the exhibition.
When asked what she thought of having her work displayed, with a slight nervous laugh Jinenez said, “I like it.” She would like to pursue a degree in either digital art or an art program.
Her father, Fabian, said that he liked that “she always goes for her dreams.”
Multiple faculty members also attended the opening night of the exhibition.
“I love it because I’m a retired educator, and to give students an opportunity to be self-expressive, that’s where my heart is. It lifts my spirits,” said Adrienne J. Scott-Ellis, a retired elementary teacher from the Davis School District.
Additionally, Anna Cole, an art teacher at Glendale Middle School, said she loved watching the children be excited about their work displayed in a gallery environment.
“They love to take the camera home to take pictures of their communities. Having them see it displayed in this gallery setting is amazing,” said Cole.
