The main aim of the “What Was, What Is” project, was to involve the participants in an artistic experience that, beyond teaching the technical aspects of photography, would explore the finer facets of the visual aesthetic communication. With primarily an emphasis on photographic composition, meaning and aesthetics, the groups interacted with the proposed theme – that of Wexford’s scars of the pandemic and the aftermath – with its ambivalent feelings – both positive and negative. Part of our learning together, were photo walks through the streets of Wexford, observing the subtle, but still visible effects of a year and a half of standstill. The scars of the walls, still derelict shops etc. The still present eeriness of the urban landscape, viewed photographically, yielded, in the end, a poignant and reflective beauty. The project is a collaboration between Access 2000 and Claudio Nego, Photojournalist, as part of the Wexford Art Department Creative Communities Programme (www.claudionego.com)