The world seen through the camera

Since its opening in 2018, Mudec Photo has been the space dedicated to art photography, not only through major exhibitions on the greatest masters of the eighth art, but a city reference point for photography-related training activities.

On the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the fathers of twentieth-century photojournalism, organized together with the world-renowned photo agency Magnum, Mudec Education, in collaboration with instax by FUJIFILM, has designed an educational project aimed at children and young people to bring them closer to photography through experimentation.

The approach of learning by doing that characterizes Mudec Education’s philosophy, based on practical and participatory action, was declined in four free workshops held by professional photographers between April and May 2022, which welcomed about 250 children aged 6 to 13, turning them into little photojournalists for a day, teaching them the ‘tricks’ of the trade and the main framing techniques. For the four-day workshop, FUJIFILM, a partner in the initiative, provided INSTAX instant cameras. These cameras were the ideal tool for the young aspiring photographers to build a reportage inside the museum, thanks also to the ease of use and functionality of the devices that allowed them to immediately print photographs to immediately share the shots and take home the memory of the day.

In search of the perfect shot

In Mudec Education’s educational methodology, theexploration of world cultures takes place not only on a theoretical level, but through active experimentation. In this case, the inspiration for the children was twofold: on the one hand, the career and technique of Henri Cartier-Bresson, world-famous for his ability to capture the decisive instant; on the other hand, the mythical figure of the explorers to whom we owe the rich ethnographic collections for which Mudec is known and loved.

The workshops were structured in two moments: first, a guided tour of the Cartier-Bresson exhibition, followed by a meeting with a professional photographer to discover the secrets of the trade and the basic techniques for getting a good shot; this was followed by an actual exploration of the museum, equipped with a camera, in search of the perfect shot. The mission of the reportage was to bear witness to one’s vision of the museum, producing a portfolio of ten shots printed on instax film.

At the end of the activity, the professional photojournalist would provide his or her own reading of each shot, resulting in an actual personal and collective exhibition within the teaching room, as well as a collective digital exhibition usable within the Mudec website.