PH15: A PARTICIPATIVE PRACTICE CHALLENGES AND SUCCESES When we think of practices intended to utilize art - in this case the

e visual arts- as a tool for social inclusion, we generally find an artist or group of artists that from the knowledge of their profession, develop plans and work projects thinking that the proposed tools can collaborate with the improvement of the different life aspects of the inhabitants of the vulnerable communities. These plans are often developed from the own knowledge with the intention of perform these practices in a relatively successful way in different ambits of study and critics on the work. During this last year, the integrants of the work team ph15 are confronted to a very particular situation, which we decided to take as a starting point, to develop a series of changes in our forms of work. From the beginning of the year, the directive and teachers structure of ph15 experienced a series of organizational changes, which modified the conformation of the work team. Since the retirement of the former co-director of the programs, we faced a very complex situation. We started to realize that after this happened, the people who used to be close to our activities and proposal, thought that all the project had crumbled after the retirement of one of the directors; and this happened in several ambits and groups of people: the ones who wanted to volunteer in the organization, the people who usually attended exhibitions of the photographers of ph15, particulars and institutions that wanted to give particular donations, members of the press, etc. It was a very hard work to personally talk to each one of these people to tell them the actual situation of the organization, what the remaining participants were doing, and tell them that we continued working in the habitual way. Alter this period, which served as a lesson learned for all the work team; we decided to make a deep analysis of the experienced situations. We got to the conclusion that the practice model that we had had carrying out, did not comply with the objectives or our organization, among these, one of the fundamental goals is to generate the active participation spaces of all the involved. We used to promote the empowerment of the youths, giving them a new tool for expression, generating spaces for the work critics, encouraging their formation as teaching assistants, favoring the exhibitions of their production in national and international spaces, but we limited their possibilities of participation in the processes of institutional decisions making, in the decisions about where their productions would be exhibited, in which

formats, which press notes to publish, and how to do these, which extra activities we would develop, and which not, what artist would be summoned for special classes, how their development as independent artists would be promoted beyond the ph15 collective, among others. We used to rely in a strong and charismatic leadership, but that also concentrated in one single person the majority of the decisions and strategies; the benefited as well as the work staff, loosened the possibility to be protagonists of our own practices.
When I left the workshop after the fourth roll of film at fifteen, I had not realized of the opportunity that I let pass by, but the curiosity of going beyond of what I thought with a camera, never left me. I did not stop going to the exhibitions of my former classmates because I felt, deep inside me, that I could not equilibrate my mind without some of this art. At the age of nineteen, by end of April 2007, came the possibility to become again a student of ph15, and did not hesitate on attend the classes. Nahuel Alfonso (19)

We knew that we were facing a very complex situation: the advance to participative decision making had with it the complication of the processes that we were used to carry out, and that we were accomplishing with success. This decision had with it the risk of failure; meanwhile the continuation of the previous practices assured us the continuity of the activity without major obstacles. Then we decided to make a plenary meeting with all the actors involved in ph15: participants of the workshops, graduated students, teaching assistants, lab workers, teachers, collaborators and directors. In

this encounter, we started to dialog about how this period had passed from the transition of the organization, which problems had came out, and we communicated our idea of start with a new scheme in the decisions making, from the simple ones to the strategic ones. We collectively planed a new policy in the decisions making,
Here in ph, I feel very good. I like the idea of coming and learn more things. Know a lot more about photography and also the fact of meeting new people. I am really happy that I have learned all this things with this good group. Emilce Ibarra (15)

in which each participant of the workshop woud be protagonist, not only in the decisions making, but in the consequences that these would bring. The scheme that was decided to be implemented is the consensus, choosing what to do, not only by majority of votes, but by the dialog, negotiation and conclussion of a common objective. From the moment these processes of participative decision started to be carried out,, the relationships of the participants

with their own work and the other participants work, had been sustancially changing. If before it was a duty of the coordinators of each group to acomplish that in the classes of

photography critic were a debat on the production, then this change came out in a very spontaneus way after the dialog, with a deep interest from the workshoppers in debat, critizice, and analyze the photographic production of their partners. On the other hand, when the participants received these critics, changed they attitud and became more flexible and receptive, accomplishing the acceptance of the comments and suggestions, analyzing and debating them. The first great challenge that we faced alter this change, was the achievement of a collective exhibition in the National Palace of Arts Palais de Glace, one of the most prestigious public spaces for the exhibition of visual arts in Argentina. In January 2007, the director of the Palace, called ph15 for a meeting to offer us the main room to develop an exhibition that would be inaugurated in June of the same year. From the moment of that notice, until the inauguration of the show, all the decisions regarding it were in charge of all the participants of ph15, making consensus for each one of these with the objective of include all the voices and points of view. The participants were the main protagonists of the decisions making regarding what to show and how to do it, thinking of the possibilities of formats and montage that aggregated more sense to the work. They were in charge of the elaboration of complete ideas, not only proponing how they would like their work to be presented, but also working in a consequent manner to accomplish it.
I started to know photography in ph15. This is what first comes to my mind when I listen to the word photography: the group work and inside that common work, the personal seek. I discovered that an image can touch, criticize, give an opinion have its own voice. Above all the photography connected me to a lot of people from whom I keep learning a little bit of everything each day. Ariel Vicondoa (23)

They each.

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developed in the show and the edition of photographers themselves who related to the press interested in promote the exhibition, deciding in which media make notes and in which not, giving guidelines for the

encounters with journalists and interviews. At the moment of the inauguration of the show, we could prove that the sense of appropriating their own work and the collective work in which they had participated, was unique. They started to respect themselves as artists, authors, and responsible of their own productions ant the message that these communicate, valorizing the practice from another place. There also raised new interests and needs for professional development, accomplishing that some of the participants took the initiative to start their own projects as photographers.

This is the case of Angel Alfonso and Matias Barbona, who decided to coo-found a group of photographers, a photographic cooperative that is developed as an alternative of traditional photographic agencies. Or the case of Ariel Vicoconda and Eugenio Alfonso, who are developing an enterprising project with the purpose of give short pinhole workshops for elementary schools in Buenos Aires and the city outskirts. Beyond these punctual cases, all of the participants incremented their actions in the
With photography I can better express myself and also be better heard when I show my photos Nancy Alfonso (22)

institutional projects, collaborating with the administrative and operative tasks of the organization, appropriating from the spaces of the Foundation facilities as a place for encounter, learning, lecture, development of extracurricular group activities, etc. The benefited perceive as positive the confidence put on them for enterprise an institutional action, undertaking the task with a great sense of responsibility and commitment regarding results. For all these exposed, we can conclude with the comment that the benefited, as well as the work team, could overcome the challenge of continue without leaning on a strong figure that concentrates the spaces of decision making. At this moment, thanks to IAF founding, ph15 is carrying out an expansive process that with its workshops will be able to reach to two new communities in the city of Buenos Aires. After having analyzed the changes that brought up with them the modification of the strategies on the decisions making, we believe that when we initiate the activities in new communities, these processes must be carried out from the beginning, planning along with the community benefited, families, neighborhood leaders, teachers, etc. the strategies to follow from the beginning of the workshops.