Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Dear Teach: Your Most Valuable Possessions




Hi Boys and Girls,


What's your most valuable possession?

Well, photographer Gabriele Galimberti set out to photograph children's most beloved toys from around the world.

What conclusions can you draw about the children, their culture, their specific personalities, where they are from, why their toys were viewed as valuable, etc. If you hover over the image, it will tell you where the child is from.

If you were to be featured, what would the image show and say about you?

If a child, let's say, living during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, or in the year 2150 were to be photographed, what types of toys would they consider most valuable? In fact, has the toy even been invented yet? Ummmm...

Think of technology from the past, in the future and how it shapes culture, or does culture shape it?

There are many ideas to consider, and most likely, many questions to pose.

Here's the online article from "feature shoot" and the author's remarks:
Photos of Children From Around the World With Their Most Prized Possessionsby AMANDA GORENCE on MARCH 12, 2013

Shot over a period of 18 months, Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti’s projectToy Stories compiles photos of children from around the world with their prized possesions—their toys. Galimberti explores the universality of being a kid amidst the diversity of the countless corners of the world; saying, “at their age, they are pretty all much the same; they just want to play.”

But it’s how they play that seemed to differ from country to country. Galimberti found that children in richer countries were more possessive with their toys and that it took time before they allowed him to play with them (which is what he would do pre-shoot before arranging the toys), whereas in poorer countries he found it much easier to quickly interact, even if there were just two or three toys between them.

There were similarites too, especially in the functional and protective powers the toys represented for their proud owners. Across borders, the toys were reflective of the world each child was born into—economic status and daily life affecting the types of toys children found interest in. Toy Stories doesn’t just appeal in its cheerful demeanor, but it really becomes quite the anthropological study.


Here's a glimpse at what the photographer discovered:


  • Orly - Brownsville, Texas
  • Puput - Bali, Indonesia
  • Li Yi Chen - Shenyang, China
  • Alessia - Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy
  • Abel - Nopaltepec, Mexico
  • Allenah - El Nido, Philippines
  • Keynor  - Cahuita, Costarica
  • Arafa & Aisha - Bububu, Zanzibar
  • Noel - Dallas, Texas
  • Bethsaida - Port au Prince, Haiti
  • Enea - Boulder, Colorado
  • Botlhe - Maun, Botswana
  • Lucas - Sydney, Australia
  • Cun Zi Yi - Chongqing, China
  • Taha - Beirut, Lebanon
  • Maudy - Kalulushi, Zambia
  • Ralf - Riga, Latvia
  • Chiwa - Mchinji, Malawi
  • Elene - Tblisi, Georgia
  • Davide - La Valletta, Malta
  • Farida - Cairo, Egypt
  • Jaqueline - Manila, Philippines
  • Julia - Tirana, Albania
  • Kalesi - Viseisei, Fiji Islands
  • Naya  - Managua, Nicaragua
  • Niko - Homer, Alaska
  • Norden - Massa, Marocco
  • Pavel - Kiev, Ucraina
  • Shaira - Mumbai, India
  • Ragnar - Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Reanya - Sepang, Malaysia
  • Ryan - Johannesburg, South Africa
  • Stella - Montecchio, Italy
  • Talia - Timimoun, Algeria
  • Tangawizi - Keekorok, Kenya
  • Tyra - Stockholm, Sweden
  • Virginia - American Fork, Utah
  • Watcharapom - Bangkok, Thailand







Gather your most valuable toys and snap a photo. Send it on to DEAR TEACH! Wait for one single year, then see if your favorite toy has changed!






Be well kids!

The Teach