Somerville Community Access Television
90 Union SquareSomervilleMA02143
617-628-8826617-628-1811

Program: The Mirror Project Year Started: 1992 Focus: Media & Video Youth Served: 80 Ages: 11-18 Budget: $72,090 The Mirror Project, started by media educator Roberto Arevalo, teaches teenagers how to produce videos through which to express and reveal the quality of their lives. The Project serves low-income, mostly bilingual teens. Each session lasts 4 months. In 1995, The Mirror Project took place at SomervilleÌs two public housing projects, enabling the program to reach teens who are most lacking in resources and most in need of attention, development and support. Teaching there also integrated the Project into the community. At the start of each session, Arevalo meets with the participantsÌ families at their homes. Classes take place three times a week and provide instruction on using a video camera and audio equipment and on interviewing and directing. Working individually with Arevalo, each teen produces a 3- to 15-minute video. An extra camera documents the processes. This footage becomes an edited diary of the experience for each group of participants. The Project also conducts field trips to movies and museums. Each session ends with a public screening for the community. The videos are subsequently cable-cast at Somerville Community Access Television (SCAT). Once teens have passed through the program, they receive a diploma and a free SCAT membership valid until they are age 18. Arevalo also documents the Project in black-and-white photographs. Using short stories, autobiographies, poetry and these photographs, teenagers create an exhibition for the public screening session. The Mirror Project videos have been featured at national and international video festivals, and teen-led video workshops have been held at numerous sites.