Kid's View photo project illustrates Golden Gloves' impact

When David Rosenthal decided to host an exhibit of photographer Chris Bucher's work in his Northside gallery, he saw a unique learning opportunity.

Bucher's mix of stark black-and-white and complex color photographs includes many that document young boxers at an Indianapolis gym. Rosenthal knew of a similar gym in Cincinnati, the Golden Gloves gym in Mt. Auburn, where boxing legends have both risen to Olympic heights and crashed on city streets.

Working with Cincinnati Golden Gloves Police Athletic League (PAL), Rosenthal created a Kid's View photography class to document current trainees and trainers at the gym in the Mt. Auburn Cincinnati Recreation Center. He took a small group of teen photographers-in-training to the gym this winter, and their work will be featured along with Bucher's professional images in "Little Kings, A Solo Exhibit by Chris Bucher and Kid's View: Ringside Seats, a community photography project," starting this Friday, April 15.

For Rosenthal, the Golden-Gloves supported project was a natural fit for his gallery, Prairie. "The mission of Prairie is to use photography as a tool to bring art into the world in unique ways," he says. "I'm always looking for opportunities for students to use photography as an expressive tool and learn about something significant in their community at the same time."

Cincinnati Golden Gloves Gym was founded by Donald "Buddy" LaRosa to give inner-city kids healthy outlets afterschool. The gym at the Cincinnati Recreation Center in Mt. Auburn doesn't look particularly fancy. Still, the old public school gym retro-fitted with a boxing ring and lots of punching bags attracts boxers from around the city and the region. It's an inexpensive training gym to be sure. But it also has a rich, storied history.

Aaron Pryor trained there. So did Rau'Shee Warren, who made it to the Olympics twice (in 2004 at age 17 and in 2008 at 21). So does Adrien Broner, 21, the undefeated World Boxing Organization Inter-Continental Junior Lightweight champion. Broner, one of the boxers featured in the Kid's View exhibit, has trained at the gym since he was six years old.

Kid's View images in the exhibit include portraits of boxers as young as Broner was when he started. Rosenthal also taught his class to capture images of boxers in action in the gym, practicing and sparring and constantly in motion. The results illustrate a group of people, and a place, that is intense, nurturing and, despite its storied history, little known. "I saw this as a way to give a voice to the unique personalities at the boxing gym," Rosenthal says.

A collection of the Kid's View images, as well as narratives from the boxers and the photographers, will be available later this year.

Do Good:
• See the pictures. The exhibit opens April 15 and runs through June 16.

• Get on the list. Join the mailing list for Prairie and Kid's View.

• Learn about Kid's View. Find out about new classes that team young photographers with community groups.

By Elissa Yancey

Photo of Adrien Broner by Owen Sonnenberg

Full disclosure: Owen Sonnenberg, who participated in the Kid's View project, is the author's son. And yes, she is proud of him.