LENS COLLECTIVE

Community-Engaged Multimedia Storytelling for Cultural Preservation
Founded & Directed by Dr. Alysia Burton Steele
 

Lens Collective is an immersive multimedia workshop that empowers students to collaboratively document and uplift stories from communities often overlooked in mainstream media. From 2017–2019, the program partnered with local community leaders in the Mississippi Delta — one of the most culturally rich yet economically challenged regions in the United States — to preserve oral histories and visual narratives through ethical, community-driven storytelling.
 

Over two intensive days, students spent one day in the field documenting a community member’s story, and the next day editing and producing digital content to be shared back with the people who inspired the work. The objective: to strengthen community voice, visibility, and agency while training emerging storytellers to practice narrative integrity and cultural respect.
 

A Program Rooted in Collaboration, Expanded Through Vision

The workshop draws inspiration from a proven format — the “Dawn to Dusk” workshop created by the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University, Steele’s alma mater. That model was later adapted by Ohio University alumna and journalism professor Cheryl Hatch for Allegheny College’s “Journalism in the Public Interest” workshop. With gratitude for this lineage, Dr. Steele expanded the design to Mississippi. Key innovations included:
 

• A Mississippi Delta cultural immersion tour led by Dr. Rolando Herts and the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, grounding students in the region’s deep history and sense of place.

• A community dinner at Senator’s Place, owned by Mississippi State Senator Willie Simmons, provided space for genuine dialogue, shared humanity, and trust before cameras ever came out.
   

Continuing the Mission

Dr. Steele is excited to expand The Lens Collective model beyond Mississippi. If interested in hosting or collaborating, contact her directly.