On the early morning of March 14 in the rural countryside of Live Oak, about 55 minutes north of Sacramento, Jordan Burkart, a recent graduate from Sacramento State University’s photography program, is one of four fellows who lead a group of more than 10 attendees on a photowalk as part of the In The County art project.
In The County is a community based, four-month long art project hosted by the Colusa County Art Council in collaboration with the “[Placeholder]” project, composed of signees that work with fellows recognized as photography industry professionals and recent university graduates who lead photowalks and teach skills to students interested in learning about photography.
Burkart begins the expedition with the recitation of a poem and a land acknowledgement, honoring the native tribes and First Nations peoples that lived, loved, nourished, and took care of the land for years before colonization, which would now be photographed and temporarily inhabited with respect and mindfulness from community members.
“I want to be a teacher or a professor and this is a great opportunity to get into the world of being a teacher and hopefully I can offer a change in perspective, because people of color and native communities aren’t always talked about,” said Burkart of what she hopes attendees will leave the experience with.
The art project allows attendees to take a step back from their daily routines and the stresses of life in order to connect with the public or privately owned land part of Colusa County and neighboring territories to offer their interpretation of what it means to live in the moment through each photograph.
While the main art medium is photography, workshops and sessions are hosted by fellows on certain Saturdays to teach interested signees a variety of skills accessible through the art program, with the final outcome resulting in a composed zine of artwork from program attendees and a launch exhibition to recognize and honor the work made by the photographers part of the program.
After payment, the services include how to edit photos using Adobe Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic, how to take photos with 35mm black and white or color film, how to develop/scan rolls of film that have become negatives, and how to make prints.
This art project stems from Sacramento State University Photography Professor Eliza Gregory’s own project developed for her students, titled “[Placeholder],” to teach and offer aspiring photographers the opportunity to connect and question their ties with the land they photograph and inhabit on a daily basis.
After various requests from Colusa County residents asking for more art programs that go beyond in-house workshops, a decision was made by Daniel LoPilato, a Colusa County Arts Council executive director, using funds from independent sponsors to make the program a reality and a collaboration with Gregory’s project to bring in community members from Colusa County and beyond to come together, create art and connect with the land regardless of where a person may find themselves.
The art project itself serves with the intention of connecting with the land.
However, it also offers the opportunity for recent college graduates to gain teaching experience through an internship as a fellow, which helps them apply the lessons and work experience learned from the program. In the end, this allows the fellows to hopefully seek other positions within the photography industry and stand out for their dedication to their community and teaching experience.
“It’s hard being an artist. No one wants to pay you for your time, expertise and skills. For this project, I ask myself how we can do this again? I hope we can serve more recent graduates or people who want to become teaching artists,” said Gregory.
The current four fellows are Jordan Burkart, Brandon Flores, Sofiya Gladysh, and Jess Peña.
Teaching fellow Jess Peña offers their experience as a first time photography instructor with their own fellow-led photowalk taking place on April 11.
“Being a fellow part of In The County has taught me in more ways than one. As a fellow, learning from the participants and seeing their perception, interpretation and gratitude towards their community, while being able to teach them has been rewarding,” said Peña.
Registration prices for the In The County art project range from $45 for the entire program, $25 per art project section and $15 per program event. Details for further opportunities can be found through the official Colusa County Arts Council programs page, www.colusa-arts.org/programs/in-the-county.
