Our Mission

The idea for Project Hózhó started as an after-school writing program in the spring of 2014. Co-founder Kieran Minor lived in Chinle for several months and taught photography classes to middle school students through Do Good as You Go, an international volunteer networking organization. After the photography workshops, Kieran stayed in Chinle, giving music lessons at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church and volunteering with the National Park Service at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. The curriculum used and developed in 2014 has been saved and is still used today in after-school programming.

Project Hózhó builds on the success of 2014 while shifting its focus to filmmaking. Film workshops are designed to teach students every aspect of the video production process from story development to photography techniques to audio mixing. At the end of the workshop, students showcase their work in a public exhibition at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church.

All aspects of the summer workshop revolve around the environment. Through art, students can explore their relationship with their home and the natural environment around them. The program’s location at the Canyon De Chelly Visitor Center provides easy access to hiking and class trips led by National Park rangers.

Project Hózhó is made possible by a Davis Projects for Peace grant as well as additional support from Oberlin College's Environmental Studies Department, X-ARTS Fund, and the Career Center Summer Experience Funding.

For more information or questions, send an email to projecthozho@gmail.com

PROJECT INFO