Quick Links:
http://jon-alexander.com
http://youtu.be/3tMFoZkrkvY

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Chiang Mai's Forgotten Boys is a photo project created with the purpose of bringing awareness to an underprivilidged and sexually exploited generation of young boys in Chiang Mai's Red Light District and the Urban Light organization, who is seeking to empower the youth through education and skills training.

With lax regulations and even less enforecement, Thailand is a hotbed for sex tourism and pedophilia. Young boys are, often times coming from rural farming villages with no education or skills, are caught in the grip of poverty and fall into the cracks of society. As males they are neglected and forgotten when sex tourism, human trafficking and prostitution are the issue at hand. They are simply left to fend for themselves.

Going against the odds and taking a stance for the boys has lead to the development of the Urban Light Center in Chiang Mai. Urban Light, lead by Alezandra Russell, works to empower the young boys with through education and vocational skills, giving them the power to choose an alternative path. 

The objectives of the photo project are to explore and document:

1. The stories of the youth.

2. Urban Light and Alezandra's fight

3. The Red Light District, Thai culture and its relationship to child prositution.

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Upon completion, a selection of photographs will be used to create a body of work with the purpose of raising awareness for the exploited, influencing policy makers in strategic positions and generating more donations to fund Urban Light.

The collection of photographs will also be donated to Urban Light for their media needs.

In addition to exploring this complicated and emotional issue, I would like to create a body of work that focuses on the beauty of Thailand. The proceeds generated from selling these photographs in a gallery and/or photo book, would be used to help the fight.

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My time spent in Thailand will be focused on the project but I am volunteering time to teaching a hands-on course with the boys at the Urban Light Center. My aim is to allow them to express themselves and tell their story by using a collection of automatic film cameras. By giving the boys a demonstration on how to use the cameras and encouraging them to use them in their daily life, I would love to develop the film for them and allow them to create their own gallery of artwork. This exercise could build self-esteem and provide an artistic outlet for the young boys, hopefully raising their interest in the arts and more specifically photography.

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Must-watch:

UNDERAGE
http://youtu.be/3tMFoZkrkvY

My work-in-progress portfolio:
http://jon-alexander.com

Facebook me:
http://facebook.com/jonalexanderphoto

Background Info from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand#Child_prostitution

Urban Light
http://urban-light.org/about.html