Community Photography
The Sherman Cultural District is the home of an exciting public art project led by Austin College. The Focalpoint(!) Project, Phase I, concluded in December 2020. Using photography workshops to build social engagement around the arts, the Focalpoint(!) Project invited Sherman residents to contribute to a databank of curated images of places, people, and culture. Many of the images can be viewed on the Focalpoint website, and future plans include publication of an e-book and additional displays of photos as part of the Public Art plan created during the project.
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HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PHOTOS:
Photos may be uploaded through the UPLOAD page (www.shermanarts.org/upload).
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This public project is for sharing of images of the places, people, and neighborhood culture of Sherman, Texas. Images submitted will become part of The Focalpoint(!) Project image bank at Austin College. Shared images should represent either (1) unique or (2) universal aspects of Sherman and its residents/visitors.
Submissions may be your own original idea, or in response to themes to help you, the photographer, with ideas for your composition! Images may be created with any type of camera or mobile device. Photo editing apps are permitted on a limited basis (i.e. conversion to black & white, or cropping). Selfies are discouraged, as Focalpoint(!) is intended to be an observational project.
All content must be in the Safe category as this is a family-friendly, global, public project! Absolutely no inappropriate or political content is allowed; the group administrator will not accept images in violation of these guidelines.
NEA'S OUR TOWN PROGRAM
The project was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as one of 60 awards in 2018 totaling $4.1 million to support projects across the nation through the NEA’s Our Town program. Austin College received $42,000 over two years to support Focalpoint(!), and the project is managed in partnership with the City of Sherman/Sherman Cultural District.