Letter from Founder/N. McGirr Autumn 2026

 I am, just now, shaking off the dream that was our 35th anniversary exhibition. There were actually two inaugural openings, one for our Antigua and international supporters and another for the young artists who came with their parents to view their work.

Held in the atmospheric ruins of the old Jesuit convent in Antigua, renovated by the Spanish government, we mounted almost 90 photos in the beautiful galleries to represent our 35 years of photographs. The smaller room we dedicated to our beginnings in the Guatemala City dump, that lead into a collaged mural of the staff  filling one whole wall, (vinyl donated and produced by Picacia).

Crowds as the exhibit opens

Smaller gallery with history, staff bios and graduates achievements.

The mural highlighted where the young artists had come from with photos of their professional accomplishments beyond Fotokids, in addition to the myriad of other jobs they do within the organization.

The staff, as you know, is made up of Fotokids graduates who for many years have been a part of the project (I mean so many of them started at ages 12 or 13 and now are in their thirties and forties)! Shown for each were their publications, work in international film and documentary production, as well as their collective values in giving back to others.

Mural, insert of mural and detail. Sorry for the gallery lighting.

The third wall was dedicated to photos contrasting the barrios the Fotokids graduates came from, in neglected, impoverished neighborhoods saturated with violence, gang recruitment and extortions or hunger, with how they had used their skills to launch a diversity of careers.

Beyond the obvious in photography, communications and graphic design, they used the skills acquired in Fotokids to secure jobs as a doctor and medical therapists, as a commercial airline pilot, video producers, an architect, and administrators in international charities and business, and educators returning to their dangerous neighborhoods to teach in public schools.

The idea was never to educate thousands of photographers; it was to open doors and consciousness, foster the kind of curiosity that would lead to personal growth and to recognize how they could realistically thrive in the world at large.

Gallery during opening

The large gallery had a four-meter vinyl announcing our 35th Anniversary (paid for by the ever-generous support from Otis McAllister) and the wall opposite opened with a panel video of graduates talking about how Fotokids had provided vocational training, life skills and had given their lives direction.

Watch video here

The recent color photographs then took over the main room and burst into color with portraits, traditional holidays, abstracts and landscapes.

You will find some of them at the end of this letter and the remainder of the 35th Anniversary exhibit can be found at fotokids.smugmug.com

Me pontificating to Elena Diego Castellanos, the Director of Cooperación Española

Large historic photos in black and white from our work with the E.U. project Spanish Voices (children examining the U.N. Rights of the child) were hung alongside photographs from our book, Out of the Dump, and our iconic photos from 1991 through 2021 graced the opposite wall.

Photo taken later, hence no people, but better light.

Our series of students’ photographs interpreting Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, how it had affected them and their communities, were displayed in recognition of the Peace Accords signed 30 years ago this year.

Below: 2 interpretive photos of grief.

©Andres Sosof, 2026

©Claudia Ixbalán/Fotokids 2026

Families carrying coffins with bones from Rio Negro massacre
©Bérlin Juárez, 2001

Photos of some of the 40,000 disappeared during Guatemalan civil war

©Rocío Auyón, 2026

Protesters have hung photos of the disappeared at the entrance to the
Presidential Palace – ©Emelyn Mejia 2026

The exhibition was so well attended, happy to say, because truthfully it was so much work. We had supporters and volunteers come from Holland, England, and the U.S. It left us with a kind of glow and I can’t think of any other word to use, but elation.

We finished out with some stunning photos from our project in Honduras Guaruma where we worked for 15 years with children using photography to teach environmental education and conservation. This project, started after Hurricane Mitch in 2000, continues to this day, and is now run by previous students.

Honduras photos

The following opening on a Saturday, was for the artists and their parents. Evelyn arranged for buses to bring students and families from the City and Santiago Atitlan to the exhibition for the day. For Santiago families, this meant a 4-hour bus ride each way.

Our two Fotokids Ambassadors gave their welcome speeches, Mayrin in Tzutuhil and Kevin in Spanish. The parents and the kids were enthralled and proud to see their work displayed so professionally, matted, framed and on the walls in such a beautiful setting.

We invited friends to attend and young kids with Fotokids I.D. lanyards emblazoned with the title, Photographer, took what I imagine were hundreds of photos.

Diego, from the Santiago Atitlán little kids group, had no hesitation in interviewing strangers. I glanced several times as he interviewed a supporter who has been with us since 1991, Mimi. It was a long interview. I could see her gesturing from where I was standing. She later told me she thought she had finally finished the interview, when he asked her, “Since you have seen 35 years of photos, which is your favorite?” Stymied by picking a favorite out of thousands of photos she had seen, Mimi glanced over and on the nearby wall, saw Dancing by Rosario and said, “Dancing!” He paused, “And why do you like that photo?”

People were amazed at how confident and open the young photographers were. When I was growing up, I remember never wanting to interact with adults, other than a polite, “how are you Mrs. so and so,” and then getting out of there as fast as I could. But these kids seemingly had none of that hesitation and actually wanted to make contact!

Upon reflection, I realize it’s one of the things I appreciate about Latin culture, the mix of generations, teenagers dancing with grandmas and small children being encouraged to kiss everyone in the room goodnight before going to bed. Kissing, cute in little kids, but for me can be wearisome in a room full of people leaving or entering a party. But that’s just me.

Now, I have to say, the staff worked so hard and diligently. Berlin did all the printing, supervising every aspect of the exhibit, Gerardo and Emelyn the matt cutting, framing; Rocío, Juan, Gerardo and Berlin did the mounting of the exhibit, along with Board member Austin and his husband Santiago. Rocío designed and had made the vinyl collage of staff and text, which filled the small gallery.

Evelyn managed it all, doing the logistics for everything from hiring the caterer, bartender for the wine, bocas, to arranging, at the same time, the Board’s five-day visit filled with meals, meetings, activities with staff, gifts, and I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but it was amazing and seamless!

Gerardo and Juan lasering the measurements for the installation.

Lina, the Director of Picacia presenting flowers to Evelyn.

Photographer Daniel Núñez, Rocio with her flowers and graduate Abdías Noe Perez

Staff! Along with Abdías in front

Prints from the exhibit can be seen and bought on our SmugMug sponsored gallery for $200. Prices have gone up for the first time in at least 10 years. Forty per cent goes to the artist if they are still in Fotokids, and the remainder to contribute to our teacher’s meager salaries.

Other things happening– This year we have been in 4 exhibits, two in New York, one in Bainbridge and of course this grand retrospective in Guatemala.

Berlin and Rocio went October 21th to Orinda California where the Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian Church (generous supporters for over 20 years!) sponsored a Gallery opening and will be bringing down a youth group this summer.

I recently reviewed the program’s curriculum performance report for this year, 2026, and found it impressive in everything from design to advanced photography. The assignments were bolstered by workshops and working with clients that really achieved college level. I was going to elucidate them for you, but they are so detailed.

Just Chonita’s design program, for branding with clients, has seven stages. I quote from her report and I’m not including what in addition is listed under each stage!

Stage 1: engagement with real clients.

Stage 2: brief analysis in class.

Stage 3: sketching process.

Stage 4: sketch review and approval.

Stage 5: logo vectorization.

Stage 6: vectorization review and approval.

Stage 7: client presentation and final package delivered to the client.

“As part of the final deliverable, students exported different logo versions and file formats, ensuring appropriate application for different platforms, media and contexts and included a QR code. As a result, they developed the ability to prepare, organize, and deliver final design files professionally, considering their application across different platforms.”

The advanced photography group in their 7^th year are working on their final portfolios since they are graduating from Fotokids this year.

You get the idea! During all of this they are also visiting design studios and receiving photo workshops. No wonder these kids are getting jobs!

Instagram creation by Claudia Amelia Ixbalán of her own work

New Volunteer Program for Graduating Students

Fotokids is developing a new volunteer program for students who have completed their training at Fotokids but have one remaining high school year of academic studies. Working as our assistant teachers, the program will, in addition, give students the opportunity to gain practical experience in a real-world work environment, strengthen their professional skills, and apply the knowledge and experience they have gained during their training.

At the same time, Fotokids will provide financial support to help cover the students’ educational expenses during their final year of school. This initiative will allow students to continue their education while gaining valuable work experience and preparing for future professional opportunities.

How you can Help

Big news on school renovation site in Santiago Atitlán. We are expanding our classroom space to take on more students as we have a waiting list of 56 kids. This isn’t a one-time waiting list, after Covid the waiting list was up to more than 90 students.

We have a generous matching grant of $30,000.

You can use this link if you would like to contribute, but I don’t want you to do this instead of your year-end matching contributions.

We need those November/December donations for scholarships and operating costs for 2027 to keep it all going including scholarships, teacher salaries, equipment, transport, lunches etc.

Link for both here. If it is for the schoolhouse, renovation leave a message in the box “Renovation”