A Week In The Life Of A Hutterite Child

Cheryl Bannes is a Lewistown, Montana artist who is a longtime Artist-in-Residence through the Montana Arts Council, co-sponsored by VSA Montana. As an Artist-in-Residence she visited many small rural communities and schools in central Montana, working with classroom teachers to bring art experiences to school children. Bannes worked with six Hutterite communities, close-knit isolated agricultural communities comprised of ten to twenty families, with a unique set of beliefs and practices. The photography project was an ideal means for schoolchildren to document and share images of their unique cultural experience and well as dispelling myths and misconceptions about the communities. Participating students looked at the work of pioneer Montana photographer Evelyn Cameron and were instructed on the use of cameras, and the fundamentals of composition and given a disposable camera. The photos were taken over a period of three months with students producing over 1000 photos. From these photos, a committee of teachers, artists, and community members selected 36 images that were enlarged and framed for the exhibition.