Bali education project needs old cameras

1 Camera 1000 Smiles needs your old equipment

FIFTEEN-year-old Made Keliwon took his first photos with an old Canon camera donated by an American tourist in Bali. Since then, he’s gotten a new one – an Olympus donated by an Australian. The photos Made has taken with the cameras – black and white shots of everyday life in his remote Balinese village – are the basis of This is my Paradise, an exhibition at Urban Artistry in Collingwood this Thursday.

The exhibition is being put on by the 1 Camera 1000 Smiles project, which runs photography education classes for children living in remote and underdeveloped areas of Bali. They rely largely on equipment donations, and are hoping those who come to the exhibition might have an old camera lying around that they’re willing to donate.

Made Keliwon's photos will be on display at Urban Artistry this Thursday

Photographs by 15-year-old Made Keliwon

1 Camera 1000 smiles aims to educate and empower through photography, giving children who have never had the opportunity to use – let alone own – a camera, the chance to capture snapshots of their lives.

“I want (to) tell the story to people,” Made says on the project’s website.

“I want my village to be developed. I am taking pictures about what I like to see.”

This is my Paradise will show at 7pm, Thursday October 13, at Urban Artistry, 74 Johnson St, Collingwood. For more information, see the  1 Camera 1000 Smiles project website.