Art, school and community

Daniel Jordan, The Great Community of The Third
Ward, Gelatin silver print

Eye on Third Ward, an annual exhibition of photographs by students from Jack Yates High School, is designed to express the distinctive identity of Houston´s Third Ward. A historically black community, the Third Ward is home to many important political, cultural, and educational organizations as well as strong religious and community groups.

The education department of the Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and the Magnet School of Communication at Jack Yates High School founded the Eye on Third Ward photography project in 1995 to encourage students to hone their technological skills and powers of observation by documenting the neighborhood and its residents. Yates photography teacher Ray C. Carrington challenges his classes to make photographs that capture the personality of the area and the people who live there. About 60 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, ages 15 to 17, participate in the project, and a number of the works created during the year-long class are selected for the annual exhibition.