by johnnoltner
At ECU, we asked, “What do you want your campus to know about sexual assault prevention and education?”
Categories: Blog • Tags: black and white, education, photography, pledge purple, portraits, prevention, sexual assault, sexual assault prevention, stories
by johnnoltner
We visited Rutgers University for their Leadership Week and asked, “What do you want to be remembered for?”
Categories: Blog • Tags: a peace of my mind, black and white, leadership, leadership development, peace, photography, portrait photography, stories
by johnnoltner
At Alvernia University, we partnered with the Office of Multicultural Engagement and asked, “How does participating in service provide hope?” At times, I have been asked, “Aren’t you just preaching to the choir?” I don’t think that is the case, but even if it were…the truth is, the choir needs encouragement, too. Working for the common good, concern with building community, striving toward justice…these can be lofty goals, tiring work, and when the problems are large, people can become discouraged. […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: alvernia, black and white, encourage, hope, inspirational, inspire, multicultural, photography, preach, quotes, service, stories
by johnnoltner
At Millersville University, we partnered with the Intercultural Center to ask students, “What is the unique opportunity or challenge of talking about race at this moment in history?” With a studio one day, quick overnight production, and a lecture on our second day, we were able to use our model of storytelling and photography to reflect their stories back to them. It’s a process that allows a community to reflect, refine and articulate their vision in a way that can […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: black and white, challenge, hope, millersville, opportunity, photography, quote, race, story
by johnnoltner
Last week I met Kerem. A friend of a friend, he was a Turkish photojournalist until it became unsafe to be a Turkish photojournalist. Kerem got a green card when that was easier to do. He sold all his belongings and moved to the United States with his wife and twin boys. They went first to Rochester, MN to be close to other family who had settled there and just last month moved to the Twin Cities in search of […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: book, greencard, immigrant, Istanbul, photography, refugee, Syria, Turkey
by johnnoltner
It’s easy to reach out to those you feel comfortable around. Compassion comes easy in those circles. But we tend to place ourselves in a bubble. We surround ourselves with those who look like us, live like us, and voted like us in the last election cycle. If we hope to bridge any of the divides that exist in our country (or even the divides that we perceive to exist) it is important that we reach out to those who […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: art, Blog, conversation, dialog, faith, Holden, humanity, learning, photography, privilege, religion, travel, washington
by johnnoltner
I’ve always loved my work as a travel photographer. For me, it dovetails perfectly with the work of A Peace of My Mind. When we visit new places…when we get outside of our comfort zone…we learn to see the world in new ways. It’s good to step out of our routine and open our eyes to other possibilities. For the past three weeks, we were fortunate to travel with good friends through Europe. After a busy few years building A […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: drought, europe, italy, peace, photography, refugee, scotland, travel
by johnnoltner
My wife just quit her job. Last Friday was her final day working with kindergarten students, a job she started once our own kids were both in school. My schedule as a freelance photographer has always been unpredictable and it worked well for us, knowing she was on the same schedule as our kids. Now both our children are grown and off to college. A Peace of My Mind has grown, too, and the exhibit and speaking schedule has me […]
Categories: Blog, Project Updates • Tags: adventure, art, connect, faith, leap of faith, peace, photography, trust
by johnnoltner
Pardon the broad, sweeping generalizations…but here’s the thing… If all the non-white people are saying, “um…there are some issues we need to discuss regarding race.” And all the white people are saying, “Everything is fine…just get over it and let’s move on.” Then…we might have some work to do regarding race. If you don’t see it, consider who you are talking to about the issue. Last week I was artist-in-residence at the Everyday Democracy convening in Baltimore. I set up […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: American Stories, art, black and white, democracy, dialogue, healing, listening, peace, photography, portraits, race, social justice, stories
by johnnoltner
More than anything, I find that A Peace of My Mind is a project about listening. It’s a skill that’s in short supply these days. We listen with the goal of responding, correcting, debating, convincing or coercing, but what if we simply listened for the sake of understanding? And another thing… 😉 We are quick to point out things that are wrong…ways we have been disrespected, disappointed, offended, or made mad. Just look at your social media stream today and […]
Categories: Blog • Tags: American Stories, Augustana, black and white, community, Illinois, listen, photography, reconciliation, share, story, students
