How does one develop empathy for strangers? Is it through face-to-face interaction, or exposure to ideas? Does it require travel to impoverished communities, or can stories and responsible documentation help take you to places you otherwise cannot experience? These are some of the questions staff members of GES grappled with at a recent meeting, featuring guest speaker Jeff Pinzino. These are also the questions The OpenShutter Project grapples with, using the ever-changing medium of student art.

OpenShutter, an exciting initiative within GES, is now accepting submissions for its fall exhibit, taking place November 13-19 at Cafe Enigma in downtown Evanston. So, do you have a story to tell; a compelling narrative currently stuck on your computer’s hard drive or camera’s memory card? Share these images with the Northwestern community and the world.

OpenShutter selects Northwestern students’ photography based on the principles of responsible media creation. We live in a media-saturated world — a world in which a camera dangles from every traveler’s neck, and everyone seems to be clicking away at the sight of others’ poverty. OpenShutter strives to place humility at the center of the conversation about documentary photography. In addition to conventional aesthetic criteria  — color, light, saturation — we believe the photographer’s worldview is all-important in analyzing a photograph.

Submit your photos, arranged in a series of 3-5 related images, toopenshutter@theges.org by this SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31th. And stay tuned for more information about the fall show. We look forward to giving you a multi-sense exhibit experience.