A-SMYLE Alumna Inspires World Travel through Photography

Tea Vastag, a 2006 A-SMYLE alumna, used her love of photography and her experiences in the U.S. to create a platform for talented Serbian youth to express themselves and showcase their photographs. The project, "Voyage of Dreams", a two-week event at the American Corner in Subotica, Serbia, not only promoted multicultural understanding through art, but also raised money for orphans and students with special needs.

Tea was awarded an alumni small grant for her project, which was designed to bring students together to share photographs of their experiences in other cultures and countries. The primary focus was the students' travels in the U.S. and Europe, but also included photographs of Subotica. Through her project, Tea was able to create an environment where the photographers could share their new experiences while the audience had the chance to learn about other cultures. Tea hopes that this project will inspire and spark excitement in younger generations to continue traveling and learning about other people and places.

The photos were arranged in a gallery, and were made available for sale. Proceeds from sales were used to buy school supplies for a local organization, Kolevka, which cares for orphans and students with special needs. Tea and her peers sold 27 of their photos, raising 6,130 dinars (approximately $75.00). Representatives from local NGOs and the Australian Embassy also attended the exhibition.

Tea hopes that in the future, she will be able to expand upon this project and make it a regular event in Subotica. She also wants to enhance the project to include other forms of artistic expression, and allow the photographers to choose their own subjects and topics. Her dream is to create an illustrated book about education that can be published and used in pre-schools.