We make art for a lot of reasons.  We make art to tell stories, to reach people, to make them understand.  In other words, we can make art to raise awareness and to create positive change.  That’s the kind of art I want to focus on in this column.  Not the mass-produced radio top 40, or the same old romantic comedies, but art and artists that inspire, that exist with the hope of making things better.  One of the best examples of this that I’ve recently come across is Kids With Cameras, an organization started by a young photographer named Zana Briski.  The website declares: “We believe in the power of art to transform lives, for both the artist and the viewer.” Kids with Cameras began in the red light district of Calcutta; Briski gave children of prostitutes cameras and simple photography instruction.  The children were able to tell vibrant, breathtaking stories that the rest of the world very rarely pays attention to.  Zana realized that in addition to helping the children realize their own self-worth, their photographs had the potential to make others care too.  With the first group of children, she made a documentary entitled “Born Into Brothels,” which won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and began selling their photographs, knowing that the profits could get these kids into schools and out of the vicious cycle of prostitution.  Since then, she has held three other workshops in Jerusalem, Haiti and Cairo. The proceeds from the art made by all of these children have gone directly back into their education and care.  The success has been astounding.  Two children from her first workshop are completing higher education in the U.S. and many others are still studying at private schools in India. Briski is back in Calcutta, raising funds for “Hope House,” a school and home for girls of the red light district.  For more information, or to donate or purchase artwork please visit www.kids-with-cameras.org.