Searching for Eldorado consists of series of photographs taken by the participants of the project, twelve young people between the ages of 10 and 18, over the course of four months. The results have been used to build this website, which provides a portrait of the community of Eldorado through the eyes of its children and youth.

The primary aim of the project was not to teach the participants photographic or digital skills, although they undoubtedly learnt much about these areas, to which the majority had not been previously exposed. The basis of the project was a series of group

discussions about the community and the places, people and things within it that were important to the young people involved. Within these discussions ideas about representation and self-representation were raised and the dominant media image of Eldorado, and other marginalised communities, as relentlessly violent and hopeless brought into question.

In participating in Searching for Eldorado the children were invited, and provided with the means, to represent Eldorado as they see and experience it in their daily lives. The community they have portrayed is vibrant and diverse; filled

with colour, creativity, humour, faith, love, hope and dreams, often found in surprisingly unexpected places. However, the lack of material and social resources are also evident in the images. The young people, and the community as a whole, face challenges and difficulties that the more privileged minority do not ever have to confront.

Searching for Eldorado was initiated and co-ordinated by Anna Kortschak.