Two of my photography students have started a project on Kickstarter.com to seek funding of a photo documentary project. They would like to photograph about a dozen small towns in Ohio that just happen to be named for major cities in Europe.

The idea for the project came about when the two students, Jaeryn Flanik and Kesley Lynch, were unable to participate in the international photo course that Lakeland offers each summer because of the high cost of the program. I pointed out to them that, while taking a trip to Europe certainly would be a valuable experience, excellent photography can be done anywhere and that documenting life in the small towns of Ohio could be a very interesting and socially important project. They soon realized that a collection of images coming from this idea could be the basis for an exhibition and a book that could be published in traditional printed form and also as an e-book that could be viewed on tablet devices and computers.

Thus the Kickstarter project was conceived. Please take a look at this on Kickstarter.com and, if the idea sounds good to you, you might want to support their project with a small donation. The students also have a Facebook Page for the project where you can view many more of the photographs that have been done so far. I do think this is a worthwhile project and have confidence that Jaeryn and Kesley can produce some interesting and valuable work. Please check it out and consider making a donation to fund the project. This kind of “crowdsource” funding may be the future of support for the arts. It’s great to see Lakeland students taking the initiative to create a project like this. Your support would be greatly appreciated.