Press Articles Archive
For media inquiries, please contact communications@ajaproject.org
Groundbreaking artist Kenya (Robinson) leading 'Counter Surveillance' curriculum for at-risk local youth
The Counter Surveillance curriculum is designed to get youth aware of how technology is used to surveil them, and how normalized it is with the complete integration of social media and smartphones into young peoples' entire lives.
Civil Liberties: Three Artists, Three Exhibitions
"It was interesting that we are from three different backgrounds, a bunch of different places, but at the same time, we are heading to the same path," said artist Famo Musa, who is one of the cofounders of City Heights Youth For Change. "We all had this theme of cultural preservation, and we had this theme of fabric."
AjA Project, a Blue Shield of California and BlueSky Grant Recipient, Inspires Through Photography
“I am truly inspired by the work being done by the AjA Project – tapping into photography as a means to create community,” says Amanda Lasik, Blue Shield of California principal for Corporate Citizenship. “We’ve picked a few photos that we believe exemplify the BlueSky spirit – images that reveal a young person’s character, where they came from, and where they want to go.”
“Little Saigon Stories” art exhibit is opening at the Media Arts Center San Diego
Good Morning San Diego - KUSI Newsroom
San Diego Women’s Foundation Raises $2,000 for The AjA Project
“This traditional SDWF event gives us the opportunity to showcase and support the work of one of our Community Partner organizations,” said Katie Sawyer, Executive Director. “During the holiday gathering, our members connect with each other and provide further support for an organization that changes lives in our community.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and Highlighting a Grantee Project
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are featuring one recent Humanities for All grantee’s project, Border Click. Josemar Gonzalez, co-founder of Border Click, shares more about this project that connects two nations (Tijuana and San Diego) through art and conversation.
Immigrant Youth Fashion: Fitting In To Stand Out
“Even now, within pop culture and YouTube there’s more Hijabi vloggers,” said Najmo Abdi, 18-year-old San Diego-born Somali youth. “I feel like that’s really important for Muslim girls, because we can mimic how they dress and see how (vloggers) are styling their turban, the hijab, with different colors and stuff.”
The AjA Project: Transforming Lives Through a New Lens
At the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Opportunity Summit 2018: Initiate, AjA will be capturing photos of the event from the perspective of young people in their programs. The young photographers will also be providing professional headshots for the 175 young adults who will be in attendance.
The AjA Project Profiled on sandiego.org
The AjA project provides photography-based educational programming to youth affected by war and displacement. AjA gives students an outlet to think critically about their identities, develop leadership skills, and become agents of personal and social transformation.
BorderClick Photo Project Puts Focus on Transborder Lives
Click: Tijuana pedestrians making their way to the U.S. border through the early morning darkness. Click: A driver at the wheel of her car, surrounded by a vehicles pointed north toward the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Click: A pair of trolley trains forming red blurs as they carry border crossers to their destinations.
Living in Two Worlds: Transborder Youth Cross Daily to Seek Educational Opportunity
Transborder youth were often born in the U.S., may have lived on the U.S. side of the border at one point, and have spent their lives crossing the border to visit relatives or go shopping. But their families live in Tijuana, Mexico, largely because it’s more affordable. In K-12 schools, as well as in college, many families maintain or use an address in the U.S. to establish residency. “It’s like everyone in Mexico has an aunt here,” Flores said.
Crushing on: The AjA Project’s Collective Voices Program
In the words of the Collective Voices participants, “The mission of Collective Voices is to express the pride we have in ourselves in order to provide young girls, who are often not heard, with a voice. This installation recognizes the beauty in our struggle and who we are as East African American young Muslim women from San Diego.
Shifting the Narrative: How AjA Empowers Underserved Youth to Tell Their Stories Through Photography
“We use certain prompts to get them to discuss their work, such as ‘How does this image represent you?’ or ‘What about this image speaks to your strongest quality?’ The participants are then able to talk about themselves through a safe access point – the images – and are not being directly asked to verbalize about themselves,” Chomut explained.
The AjA Project Featured on Vanguard Culture
For their commitment to igniting change, breaking cycles of marginalization and building healthy communities through their photography-based programming we are proud to have The Aja Project as our newest Cause of the Quarter!