2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageA HUMBLE EPIC: High School students, Alec Soth, and longform photo projects
Jacob Cecil - High School Educator Award
Friday, March 20 - 10:00AM to 11:00AM
Athens
Inspired by the long form wandering narrative projects of Alec Soth, High School students are guided in crafting their own yearlong photo projects. Since 2013 the 12th grade Photo 3 students at River Hill High School in Clarksville, Maryland have spent their senior year exploring a single narrative project – their Humble Epic. The final product that presents their epic ideas in a humble way is in a collaborative book form. The focus on the longterm project and this form is inspired originally by Soth's own publications as well as his emphasis on "book photography, not wall photography." After many years of teaching this course an exchange emerged between Jacob Cecil, an 18 year veteran teacher, students in the classroom, and Alec Soth himself through Instagram, by mail, and finally in person. In the fall of 2019 there was a spontaneous visit from Soth to the school while he was working on what would eventually become A Pound of Pictures, MACK 2022. His visit came to represent a full circle moment for the course and the school year ended in May of 2020 with a virtual final critique he joined while everyone was, at that point, in lockdown. This session will present an overview of the curriculum of this high school course and the visual arts program as a whole as well as how the project and exchange emerged. This presentation will share the methods of developing these kinds of long form projects with students, the work of students involved, as well as the ways in which a community of exchange was fostered inside and outside of the classroom between students, teacher, and artists.
speaker
Jacob Cecil
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