ENVISIONING SOMERSET:

Past and Present

CREATIVE BRIEF
Our Advanced Digital Photography program has been
awarded a $5000 grant from the Mass Humanities to
complete a photo project in which we study the
history of Somerset and documentary photography.
We will then take a series of photographs to connect
the past and present of the town.
This grant coincides with the town of Somersets
225th anniversary.

DESIGN CHALLENGE: PART 1

Visually conveying the culture of
Somerset

Through funding from the Mass

Humanities, we will meet with a visiting
artist, Mary Beth Meehan. Mary Beth
Meehan is a documentary photographer
who works in communities such as
Brockton and Providence, photographing
people of different backgrounds. Her
portraits are displayed on large scale
banners hung within each town in hopes
to promote understanding and community
among different cultures living in the
same place.

What is community or a community?

What is (social) documentary
photography?
How can photography create connections
and promote cultural understanding?

You w i l l e a c h c r e a t e y o u r o w n p h o t o
series documenting the present day
community and culture of Somerset.
Where are places, events, organizations
and people that define Somerset? What
makes Somerset unique? What can you
communicate about Somerset through
your photos?
How can your portraits reveal the
personality of individuals that make up
the culture of our town?

DESIGN CHALLENGE: PART 2

Visually communicating the history of
Somerset

Next, we will meet with Mary Ann

MacDonald, town historian and author of
Somerset, Massachusetts: Portrait of an
American Experience in a New England
T o w n . We w i l l r e a d e x c e r p t s f r o m h e r
book, and create a timeline of the
i m p o r t a n t h a p p e n i n g s i n S o m e r s e t . We
will then take a photography field trip
visiting important historical sites in town.

Inspired by places and landmarks visited

on the field trip, historical figures
learned about during our discussion of
the towns past, or evidence of past
industries or events, you will choose your
own direction of another photo series
inspired by the past.

DESIGN CHALLENGE: PART 3

Connecting the Past and Present

You will now curate your photo collections,

deciding how to visually create a narrative about
the story of Somerset, communicating both the
p a s t a n d h o w i t h a s s h a p e d o u r c u r r e n t s o c i e t y.
You may choose to do this through images
juxtaposed side by side, through double
exposures of your own images, combined with
maps, writings, historic documents or old photos
of the town. Can you combine your portraits
from your documentary series with your
historical photos? You may be able to use photos
you have already taken, or may want to take
new photos to communicate your ideas.

After you finish your 3 photo sets, you will write

a written narrative to accompany your strongest
series. You will each choose your best individual
photo to print to display within the town in local
stores or public buildings, as well as print one
of your series for display in our school gallery
for an exhibit and town wide celebration in April.
10- 12 works will be selected by a committee
including a member of the SBRHS school
committee and town council to be printed large
scale (potentially 8 feet x 10 feet) and hung on
walls within the community (public schools,
l i b ra r y, o t h e r b u i l d i n g s ) .