about
What's 5th Grade Dreams?
17 people were 5th grade classmates. Six are parents, eight graduated from college, eight live in Danville, and one is married.
5th Grade Dreams is a photographic documentary of Sunny Strader revisiting her fifth-grade classmates in their adult lives. From 2000-2003, these students were selected to be in the MATS (Motivating Academically-Talented Students) program, based on their IQ scores.
Artist statement:
The goal of the project is not to evaluate the concept of 'success'. The goal of the project is to consider how systemic oppression has played a role in who — in this group of objectively intelligent folks — has gotten to realize their dreams and who hasn’t had the chance to.
This ongoing work is an opus dedicated to my classmates and the 5th grade MATS class of 2020.
How can I support this project?
Financially (film, development, travel, etc.). To support this project and its future, contact Sunny Strader at sunnystrader@gmail.com
Sunny Strader, (b. 1991 in Danville, Illinois) lives and works in Los Angeles. Her work has been featured by Instagram, Aint-Bad Magazine, and The Strange Fire Collective.