GCC school project
About CPB Prism
CPB Prism is a community-based educational organisation and the educational wingof Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation. Through visual arts and media, it works to
nurture young voices, encourage critical engagement, and expand access to creative
learning.
Follow Us:
@cpbprism @chennaiphotobiennale
About the Program
Since 2022, Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation (CPB) has partnered with the Greater ChennaiCorporation’s Education Department to implement a sustained photography and arts educationprogramme in government schools.
The programme goes beyond technical training. It creates spaces for reflection,
dialogue, and collective learning that support students, teaching fellows, and
facilitators. This ongoing exchange continues to shape CPB Prism’s approach toaccessible and meaningful arts education.
This year, we were able to work with six cooperation schools across North and SouthChennai working with 298 students from Grade 5-7.
Education Partners
The Greater Chennai Corporation Education Department and The Chennai School
About the Exhibition
This year’s student exhibition brings together diverse bodies of work developed
through observation, play, memory, and imagination. As students walked through theirschools and neighbourhoods, photography encouraged them to slow down, notice
closely, and reflect on their everyday surroundings.
Across the exhibition, visitors encounter multiple thematic presentations shaped by thestudents themselves:
From Where We Stand
A meditation on perspective and place. Students documented the ground beneath theirfeet, the paths they take daily, fleeting gestures, shadows, textures, and overlooked
spaces. These photographs invite viewers to pause and see the world through a child’sattentive gaze. – Teaching fellow Kamlesh D
Kangal Pesiya Kavidhai (Poetry Spoken by Eyes)
Blending poetry and photography, this section reflects the students’ emotional journey.Trees, narrow pathways, colours, and quiet discoveries become visual poems. Each
image is an imprint of memory — a step toward dreams. – Teaching fellow Safrin Ashraf
See Us Smile
A celebration of joy in everyday life. Light on walls, colours, friendships, and
small shared moments become sites of happiness. These images remind us thatdelight often lives in ordinary spaces. – Teaching fellow Kamlesh D
A World Within Us
An intimate collection of photographs expressing identity, friendship, curiosity,
and feeling. Through playful, thoughtful, and expressive frames, students revealhow photography becomes a language for sharing their inner worlds. – Teachingfellow Varshini S
VannAuraPettai
Created by students from Washermanpet (Vannarapettai), this body of work
reflects on neighbourhood history and lived present. Once associated with the
labour of whitening cloth during the colonial period, the area today bursts withcolour, relationships, and everyday rhythms. Through portraits, abstracts, andstreet observations, students capture not only visible colour, but the emotionalaura of their community.
Teaching fellow Safrin Ashraf
Colourful Memories
A curatorial reflection on attention and wonder. Shadows become storytelling
figures, flowers become hope, and smiles become light. These photographs aredescribed by the students as “memories painted with light.”
Together, the exhibition offers a layered portrait of Chennai as seen by its
iyoungest image-makers — observant, sensitive, playful, and deeply aware oftheir environments. – Teaching fellow Varshini
Exhibition Posters:
