"Smile! I want to take your portrait...It's too dark over here.... Is this a stolen portrait?" were some of the comments heard on Friday, March 26 at the Aguilar Branch when adult students from Aguilar and Harlem Centers for Reading and Writing rose from their seats to show off what they had just learned about portraits: consider the mood, the setting, the lighting, the point of view and the subject!

For the next 10 weeks, these lucky 20 students will be part of the Photography workshop, a "Literacy in the Arts" initiative funded by the New Ventures Committee of the St. James Church for adult literacy students. Leading them in their understanding of digital photography, photo essays, attributes of photographs and a study of their communities is Sol Aramendi, a New York based Argentinean educator and artist who strongly believes in Art Education as a tool to create a dialogue of understanding and social justice.

Students have been given their own digital cameras for the workshop series and will be exhibiting their work at the Harlem Library at the end of May. An album of their photos and writing will also be published. For more information, contact Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Aguilar Center for Reading and Writing.