The Art of Development: Images Promoting Dialogue and Alternatives to Poverty and Violence in Local Communities of Colombia

Abstract

Sueños Films Colombia is a grassroots organization based in Ciudad Bolivar, southern Bogotá-Colombia. For over ten years, this community-based project has offered diverse art activities including audiovisual training, documentary production workshops, forums on cinema and an international film festival. This innovative community organization promotes the active participation of local people, enabling them to use the arts to express themselves, to interact with others and to find collective solutions for their community. ‘The Art of Development’ collects material from the time that I have spent in Ciudad Bolivar and other marginalized barrios/neighborhoods of Bogotá and Manizales. Since May 2010, I have been assisting several projects that Sueños Films Colombia has organized, including filmmaking seminars and workshops, while producing ethnographic material for my Masters thesis. Through the following images, I hope to share the power of the arts in promoting alternatives to poverty and violence, along with, even more importantly, the strength of the local Colombian people. I have been inspired by children taking their first photos, elderly learning video editing from their grandsons or neighbors, and the energy moving groups of people from different generations to develop projects collectively.