T21
T21
People with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, also known as Trisomy 21 (T21). Like everyone else, people with Down syndrome lead full, vibrant lives when they have love and support. My involvement in the T21 project began at a coffee meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, with Lotta, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Colorado Anschutz. Lotta is originally from Sweden and was previously the Director of the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging (KIHA) at the University of Denver (DU), where I teach photography. In her role as director of KIHA, Lotta championed the intergenerational community photography projects I was leading with my students.
Lotta was tasked with organizing the 6th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society, to be held in Denver, Colorado, in June 2026. She suggested that we partner on a photography project to celebrate the Colorado Down syndrome community. The project would culminate in an exhibition and a publication to be showcased at the conference venue. We invited Dr. Youllee Kim from the Communication Studies Department at DU to participate in the project. Because Youllee’s specialty is health communication and the participatory photography technique Photovoice, her participation would enhance the project’s goals and add a robust research component.
Our project is progressing, engaging participants from the Down syndrome community on Colorado’s Front Range, plus one participant from Canada. Two engagements are planned for each. The first is an introductory session in which we share the project objectives. We gift participants with a point-and-shoot digital camera and provide instructions for using it for Photovoice. Each person is encouraged to document their experiences by taking at least 5 photographs per day for about 1 month. During the second meeting, Youllee reviews the photographs with the participant, records the descriptive conversation, and I create a formal black-and-white portrait, featured in this web album.
