Tamara Porras's Profile

Tamara Porras
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General Information

About Tamara:

Tamara Porras is studying Photography and Journalism and believes that education is the
key to setting a strong foundation for the future
of developing communities and countries.
However, a solid education also includes space
for creative expression. Introducing citizen
journalism and community art to places without
an arts/media foundation brings new realms of expression and
new possibilities for empowerment. This idea is Tamara’s driving
force for learning how to integrate media, art, and education into a
community’s framework.
Tamara became interested in the potential for community art to
enact change in high school, searching for a social benefit that her
love for photography could have. In 2004, she was an intern at the
International Center of Photography’s Community Programs, an
initiative that brings photography education to NYC-region high
school students, many of whom are on full scholarships. Community
Programs creates a safe space for students to express themselves,
who otherwise would not have had the access to such education. The
effect she saw photography have on the lives of her peers started her
thinking that community art initiatives in low-income communities
could bring positive transformation. The mentoring she received was
so strong that she has since returned as a teaching assistant for the
program. She has traveled to Nicaragua, Spain, Ghana, and the Czech
Republic, exploring the needs and potential for media/arts initiatives
in internationally developing communities.

In Oct. 2006, Tamara teamed up with three other NYU students
to found imMEDIAcy, an organization seeking to develop a webbased
alternative media channel that empowers the traditionally
underrepresented to become citizen journalists. Its label as a
“socially-conscious YouTube” highlights imMEDIAcy’s commitment
to becoming a user-powered hub for media exchange, but it also hopes to bring sustainable media education and infrastructure to
communities across the globe. imMEDIAcy was a finalist in the NYU
“Be A Changemaker” competition, and received grants from Youth
Venture and mtvU.
Tamara will be working with The Laundromat Project in the summer
of 2007, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit organization that seeks to make
art more accessible by creating art centers adjacent to laundromats.
She will be developing curriculum for future arts initiatives and
workshops, determining the best strategies for applying arts/media
education on the ground.
After graduating, Tamara hopes to become a teacher and explore
education from another perspective, seeking ways to bring art/media
ideas into traditional classrooms.

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