An exhibition of photography and prints created over a period of six years by Houston-area schoolchildren, highlighting Houston’s diversity and energy, will be on view at the Rice Media Center on the Rice University campus, from March 7-31, 2017 (Weekdays only). In the Eyes of Our Children: Houston, An American City, accompanied by a 296-page book, complete with over 300 color plates, presents a panoramic view of Houston, including public parks and gardens, sports stadiums, shopping malls, cultural venues and downtown.

Geoff Winningham, acclaimed Houston photographer and a professor of visual arts and photography at Rice University, along with his wife, artist Janice Freeman, led the project, guiding 132 elementary and middle-school students—of diverse racial, cultural and economic backgrounds—in the art of photography and printmaking. “This exhibition and the accompanying book offer a unique vision of Houston at this moment in its history through the eyes of its children,” states Winningham. Undergraduate volunteers from Rice University pitched in by taking leadership roles at the participating schools and the summer workshops.

The 132 students from Houston-area schools who participated in the project—43% Hispanic, 30% Anglo, 16% African American, and 11% Asian–mirror the diversity of Houston’s population and lend insight into the changing vision of our cities and our nation. “Houston is at the forefront of the epic demographic transition that is taking place in the United States,” according to Stephen Klineberg, noted sociologist and professor at Rice University, and a contributor to the book.