Project Description
HistoryMiami Museum showcases the work of our Youth Photography Fellowship Program led in collaboration with local photographer Woosler Delisfort. This exhibition highlights projects from local middle and high school students who were tasked with exploring their daily lives and communities while learning about photography.
The fellowship program encouraged students to explore their creative interpretation on a variety of subjects, creating a platform for youth to connect to this artistic medium on a personal level by highlighting the power of photography and storytelling.
Woosler Delisfort
Woosler Delisfort is an award winning documentary photographer and filmmaker. His latest project titled: GODmama: Great Mother of Power, is a documentary series with a focus on the intersectionality of afro-spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora and the essential role of women, specifically prevalent in the ceremonies of Vodou, Santeria, and IFA traditions found in Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Jamaica, Benin, Nigeria, and throughout the U.S.
Storytelling is an integral component of Delisfort’s work as it depicts truth, authenticity, and the exploration of self and the unexplored. Fundamentally, it is an opportunity to connect with the core principles that affect the collective human spirit.
Delisfort, a native of Miami- born, raised and residing in the community of Little Haiti. He has dedicated the past decade capturing the energies driving the human experiences, aesthetics, sounds and rhythms of Miami’s Haitian community in Little Haiti. Such passion is evident in his commitment to building communities through photographic documentary partnerships, empowering the local youths to tell their own stories through their experiences and perspectives via his current fellowship with the HistoryMiami Museum.
Delisfort’s past creative work, research and outreach has been supported by the Miami Foundation,
HistoryMiami Museum Center for Photography, Bakehouse Art Complex, Oolite Arts and IPC ArtSpace. Also a board member of Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance’s.
Charles (Seb) Farmer
Being an openly gay boy in Florida is a never-ending obstacle that still throws me to the ground. Even though Miami is considered an LGBTQ-friendly city, that has never stopped homophobic attacks and discrimination from coming my way. People asking me inappropriate and unnecessary questions led to me questioning all of my qualities and struggling with them. My exhibit showcases not only the struggle to understand my preferences in people but also how to accept me for who I am and unconditionally love myself. My story starts with a picture of someone holding my wrist and wrapping their fingers around it. This is something nearly all my family and friends have done to me in the past to show me how skinny my arms are.
This revelation always led to the discussion of how I don’t eat enough and my inability to get any meat on my bones, making me insecure about my arms. This occurrence in my childhood started an era in my life where I would only wear sweaters, as seen in my second photo, even in the Miami heat. As I grew up, I started noticing that I was not like the boys I knew; I was always very feminine and only had friends that were girls, but now I liked the people they liked. Because I was “ladylike,” I was bullied in elementary and middle school, and none of my peers ever made me feel completely seen; I was always just the gay friend to most of them. The underrepresentation of LGBTQ couples in movies and shows also made it hard to envision myself and a happy life for me, and at some points I felt abnormal for being the way I was. It took me a lot of time and practice to let myself know I was worthy of love and acceptance, and I surrounded myself with supportive people like my sisters and friends. With these people supporting me, I let go of all the negative people in my life and became my true, authentic self.
Elisabeth Farmer
Cuisine brings families and people from different cultures together. It’s like having a mixture of unique different flavors in a dish. My family is of multiple cultures, like multiple different ingredients that come as one. We’re closer than ever when we’re together. Ever since I was little, I was curious to have the ability to cook. My first memory of cooking was with my mom and brother making crêpes. From my perspective, cuisine has a lot of precision and components that balance the fun and the cooking itself. The dishes that were made were two Haitian dishes called Diri Djondjon ak piti pwa, et poulé sòs creole and an Italian dish called Conchiglie Ripiene. Diri DjonDjon ak piti pwa is one of my family’s favorite dishes, we typically make it when we celebrate something. Which is loosely translated to mushroom rice with small peas. In my home we also eat a ton of Italian dishes. Such as the Haitian Macaroni & Cheese.
Jamora Arroyo-Jefferson
As an artist, I am creatively inspired by the activities and events that I experience as well as all that I see around me. I enjoy utilizing these inspirations to make art in various mediums, which communicate my personal thoughts and opinions while also educating and informing my audience. With this opportunity to be a HistoryMiami Museum Student Photography Fellow, I wanted my exhibit of photographs to address a pressing issue I am witnessing firsthand in my own West Grove neighborhood – gentrification. Having lived and gone to school in the Coconut Grove community of Miami since kindergarten, I have seen an abundance of change within this historic neighborhood, which is affectionately known today as the West Grove.
Originally settled by Bahamian workers during the late nineteenth century, the West Grove or “Little Bahamas of Coconut Grove” for decades served as a haven for hard-working Bahamians and other people of color. However, this historic area is now having its rich cultural heritage eradicated one plot of land at a time, as gentrification quickly spreads throughout each and every block. As real estate prices in Miami continue to rise, the residents and business owners of color in the West Grove can no longer afford to remain. This has resulted in the charming, modest homes of the original West Grove residents being torn down and replaced with million-dollar, box-shaped houses, while the once minority-owned businesses along Grand Avenue are now either shuttered or for sale. In my photographs, I have attempted to capture the juxtaposition of the “old” and the “new” within West Grove as visual evidence of the neighborhood’s eroding cultural and historical past at the hands of rampant economic opportunism.
Jaral Arroyo-Jefferson
As a high school student athlete – soccer and track – I have a unique appreciation for participating in organized team sports. For my exhibit, I wanted to show this perspective of being a student athlete in a series of photographs featuring my fellow Ransom Everglades School track mate, Ron Donaldson, whom we call RJ. Though my photos capture his heartbreaking defeat, they also convey how weeks of intense preparation and training come down to mere seconds spent on the track. The reality for any track athlete at any given minute is that results do not always match desired expectations. At a recent track and field event on April 3rd, 2023, at Belen Jesuit High School, RJ competed in the 110-meter hurdles event. My last photo in this series shows the setting sun, which is meant to symbolize that in the future, your preparation and training may result in victory. This is the true trial and tribulation for any athlete.
Jasmine Jeannoel
My project is about Joy.
Joy is a feeling of happiness and Joy can look different for everyone, but it’s often expressed through smiling, laughter, and positive emotions. This image shows an expression of happiness, contentment, or excitement. I did this topic because I want people to see what joy does to the mind and how it effects are mental and physical health.
Jonesta Jeanlouise
Whether you are a sports enthusiast, or an art lover, Track and Field Pictures is sure to leave you inspired and captivated! Track and Field Pictures is a captivating project that brings together the worlds of athletics and art. Track and Field Pictures offers unique perspectives on sports through breathtaking visual imagery. My project began as a personal passion for the sport, I’ve always been drawn to the raw physicality and competitive spirit of track and field. Over time, this passion evolved into a full-fledged artistic endeavor, using my skills to capture the beauty and intensity of the sport in stunning detail. Through a combination of photography, digital art, and other mediums, Track and Field Pictures offers a fresh and dynamic take on an age-old pastime. From sweeping vistas of Olympic stadiums to intimate portraits of individual athletes, the project showcases the many facets of this exhilarating sport.
