Background/Vision
What is griot photo?
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griot photo is a photography-based organization committed to the use of photography to promote positive social change.
What is the purpose of
griot photo?
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griot photo was established in an effort to actively produce and support documentary photography projects which strive to expose important stories of our time. It is hoped that, through this exposure, the photographs will be a springboard to encourage discussion and to motivate people to act.
Why photography?
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It is the belief of griot photo that visual media is one of the most effective forms of communication, and that social documentary photography is particularly suited to the promotion of social justice.
Why social documentary photography?
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Great social documentary photography requires the development of a respectful relationship and trust with the subjects. Often through
a longer time commitment on the part of the photographer,
this form of photography is able to more effectively portray the complexities and
subtleties of most subjects or issues.
What is a "griot"?
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A griot, (pronounced "gré-ó"), is a storyteller. In West African villages, the griot plays an integral part in the transmission of oral history.
"It is rightly said that when a griot dies, it is as if a library has burned to the ground. The griots symbolize how all human ancestry goes back to someplace, and sometime, where there was no writing. Then, the memories and the mouths of ancient elders was the only way that early histories of [hu]mankind got passed along... ..for all of us today to know who we are". - Alex Haley 1921-1992, author of Roots
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In many ways, social documentary photography, through the expressive genre of the photo essay and photo story, plays a similar role to the griot. This variety of photography communicates visual stories and, through these stories, shapes the memories of our past, events of today, and those of future generations.
Can griot photo assist
you or your organization?
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griot photo works together with individuals, Non-Governmental Organizations, Agencies, Government departments, news media, and small businesses. Whether in the fields of International Development, Community Activism, and/or Social Justice, the predominant goal of the work of griot photo is to produce communicative visual essays which inspire viewers to act.