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Serbest Salih, a 27-year-old photographer from Syria who currently lives in Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin, has been offering photography workshops to children from Syria, Iraq and Mardin.
Established under the roof of the Sirkhane Social Circus School, the Darkroom teaches children how to take meaningful photos, develop analog images, and print them. "They learn how to create beauty and joy out of the darkness of their past and present," says Salih.
Having turned a small caravan into a darkroom, he plans to go from village to village, reach out to children in need and help them express themselves in photography. Salih says that they have also launched a donation campaign so that he can reach out to more children.
Serbest Salih introduces the project briefly as follows:
My name is Serbest Salih and I am a 27- year-old photographer from Kobane, Syria. I am currently living in the southeast of Turkey, where millions of Syrian refugees are resettled. I am the director of Sirkhane DARKROOM, a photography school currently active in Mardin Istasyon, an impoverished neighborhood near the city of Mardin and in the city of Nusaybin, a beautiful city affected by war and violence.
"In the course of learning this art, the classes enable them to develop life skills such as social skills, adopting universal values to themselves, and their art, improving physical coordination and concentration.
"Also, the art of photography enables children to develop a healthy personality and gives them a tool to express themselves in the most meaningful way to be a productive member of their society.
"Photography, as an educational method, enables children to, first of all, know themselves better. It is an incredible and effective method of teaching children coming from severe conditions, new ways of thinking, creativity, and being playful while expanding their perspective of their surroundings."
Click here for detailed information about the project and donation
Click here for the photographs
(AÖ/SD)
