I PHOTOGRAPHED
An archive of childhood photographic memories
Photography as an educational tool in primary schools, placing the gaze and narratives of children at the center. Between 2021 and 2026, at the “Antonio Benci” primary school in Livorno, I conducted photography workshops involving ten classes, from third to fifth grade.
The project aimed to encourage children to develop a critical perspective and reflect on their surrounding world, while simultaneously building a visual record of daily life, habits, and the cultural fabric of downtown Livorno—a neighborhood characterized by a strong multi-ethnic presence. The school’s student body reflects an extraordinary diversity: schools like this represent a living observatory of contemporary society and its transformations.
The children were the true protagonists of the journey: they took photographs and were photographed in turn, creating a dual perspective shaped both by the act of observing and by the way that observation took form. Through total autonomy and creative freedom, they documented their own reality while having fun, experimenting, and gaining greater confidence in their expressive abilities. The result is an image archive that preserves memories and provides a profound reading of a lived, shared space.
