Fundación ph15

Fundación ph15
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fundación ph15 was started in 2000 by photographer Martin Rosenthal after a group of disadvantaged teenagers told Rosenthal they’d like to learn photography. The “ph” stands for photography, and the “15” is a reference to Villa 15, the poor and marginalized barrio where the teenagers live, also known as Cuidad Oculta, or the Hidden City.

Through the Fundación’s Saturday school, students are trained in photography both as a technical medium and as a way to express their social criticisms and personal messages. Wielding loaner cameras, students incorporate photography into their daily routines and go on field trips with teachers at the school for rare glimpses of the world outside the slums. The week’s photographs are then discussed in a group critique, and students are encouraged to share their thoughts about each others’ work.

To help fund their work and provide a marketplace for the students’ photographs, the Fundación sells the photographs on their website, with profiles and quotes from the photographers. Half of the proceeds of the sale go to the Fundación and the other half go directly to the photographer. Fundación ph15’s unique social enterprise addresses both the organization’s mission and its sustainability.


Contact Information:

Directors: Martín Rosenthal and Moira Rubio
Address:   Juan F. Segui 4517 8 C - 1425
                 Buenos Aires 
                 Argentina
Phone:      5411 47737257
E-mail:       taller_ph15@yahoo.com.ar
Website:   www.ph15.org.ar