TAMPA, Fla. — Aisha Bingham walked into the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts and just started smiling.
On the walls of the Ybor City attraction were gorgeous black-and-white photographs — many taken by her.
"There's so many beautiful parts of Tampa, and even the bad parts are beautiful," says this mother of five, a woman who has struggled through homelessness.
The exhibit, the "Hope Photovoice Initiative," put cameras in the hands of eight residents of Tampa's University Area. They were untrained, and yet they had a story to tell and then some.
"We let them go out into the community, and what they came back with were these amazing jewels," says Dr. Sarah Combs, CEO of the University Area CDC. "And the best part was hearing the stories behind the photos."
The rookie photographers snapped pictures and added text about homelessness, community, joy, despair, and all parts in between. The project aims to shed new light and understanding of all facets of the city.
For Aisha, she's hoping museum-goers take away a very important point: "There's beauty in ashes. I believe that totally."
For more on FMoPA, go here.
