International portrait project is turning La Academia de Esperanza ‘Inside Out’
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Inside what was once a welfare office off Old Coors and Bridge SW, sits La Academia de Esperanza.
The charter school is a second home to many students, who say its community feels like family.
The building could easily be missed.
Upon entering, one feels a sense of community and family.
One that the dozen students in the after-school program called Circles helps cultivate.
The program helps empower students to see beyond their experience of poverty and encourages them see beyond themselves and band together.
The student club helps fulfill some of the mission of the charter school, established for students at risk, to help open students’ hearts and minds to life’s possibilities, while supporting their self-determination.
In the coming days, the facade of La Academia de Esperanza will change as 80 portraits of students will be displayed outside the school.
The exhibition is part of an international project called “Inside Out.” Organizers will unveil the portraits at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, at the school, 1401 Old Coors SW.
“The project for us came out of English class,” says Kate Smith, who also oversees the Circles program. “We wanted to get involved with this project because it was about society and sending a message.”
Launched in 2011, “Inside Out” gives students the opportunity to share their portraits and make a statement for what they stand for. It is a global platform for people to share their stories and transform messages of personal identity into works of public art.
Each group action around the world is documented, archived and exhibited online. More than 260,000 people have participated in 129 countries.
La Academia de Esperanza is the second New Mexico school to participate.
The students worked with local photographer Rafael A. Martinez and Humans of New Mexico.
Martinez began taking photos in October 2016.
Martinez sent each portrait to the “Inside Out” project, where it was printed on a large scale and sent back to the school.
Smith says she wanted the students to participate in the project because it helps humanize spaces.
“Everyone who drives by the school doesn’t realize it’s a school,” she says. “What we’re doing is we’re taking the inside charm and placing it outside. We want the community to ask questions. We want to be here to answer them.”
Diego Hernandez wanted to help humanize teenagers and education.
“This school gets a lot of negative comments,” he says. “We planned it to roll out when PARCC testing was taking place. We wanted to make our own statement about it. We’re more than just test scores.”
Hernandez says working with his peers on the project also helped open up doors to friendship.
“We got a chance to learn different things about each other,” he says. “We got to vibe with each other, and I don’t think it would’ve happened without the project.”
The students in Circles also interviewed each person being photographed.
Melissa Salas enjoyed being able to play the role of reporter.
“It gave me another look at the school and the students,” she says. “I think it was a cool experience being able to see another side. I’m happy with the project.”
The Circles group also includes Sebastián Gutierrez, César Guillen, Ricardo Santillen and Jannet Morales.
Martinez says being able to tell the stories is part of what he enjoys about Humans of New Mexico.
“Everyone has a story,” he says. “It’s important to capture that. Working with the students has been a great opportunity for the community to learn more about them.”