Journey

Featured work by Cajon Valley Middle School students - Spring 2022

Ongoing Enrollment

About the Program

Since 2002, Journey has drawn from the principles of participatory photography to engage new comer, refugee or immigrant youth in City Heights and beyond. Journey’s curriculum is designed to use photography, writing and art making as tools for self-reflection on identity, culture, self-expression, and integration to a new country or community.

This process of participatory storytelling is designed to validate and empower participant’s experience and provide an avenue for self-guided growth. The workshops aim to grow our self-awareness through projects that reflect and represent the participants’ identity, community, and culture.

Elementary to high school students who identify as new comers, immigrants or refugees.
This program can be taught virtually or in-person on a school site. It is usually taught as a full 10-week program, but one-day workshops are available as well.
There are currently no requirements for this program.

Program Activities

Introduction to Photography

Students are provided with digital cameras and basic lessons so that they can learn to use photography as a visual language. They’ll use their skills and personal experiences to tell their individual and/or family narratives in visual form.
Identity through Collage and Poetry

Students will learn the power of reframing and image making by using their photographs to create portrait collages. This helps students use art making practices to explore and communicate how they want the world to see them.
Student Exhibition

Each program culminates in an end-of-season exhibition where participants showcase their original artwork and speak about their process and learnings. Participants engage with peers, family and community members as an opportunity to broaden awareness and shape their own narrative.

Featured work by Cajon Valley Middle School students - Spring 2022

What to Expect

AjA’s participatory photography curriculum is rooted in the understanding that resettled youth arrive with a wealth of knowledge about the world. AjA’s teaching artists engage critically and creatively with participants as they develop their photography skills and other mixed media art forms. Through these mediums, students learn how to translate the knowledge they possess about themselves and their communities into visual stories.

Journey participants use their photography skills to address themes such as identity, resettlement, migration, home, culture, community, advocacy and artivism. Through this process, Journey participants create a stronger sense of community and learn to value the unique worldview that each person brings into the space.

Sessions are planned within AjA Project’s Spring or Fall seasons, and usually last between 10-20 weeks.
All equipment and materials are provided by AjA’s equipment library, and students are given the opportunity to check out equipment to take home and experiment.

Topics Covered

Archiving and Documentation

We’ll discuss the power of documentation for survival, advocacy and protest across a variety of forms.
Youth Organizing

Build your skills with a cohort of young artists ready to move audiences toward action through documentation and media making.
Photography

Get an in-depth tutorial on photography best practices, techniques and access to AjA’s equipment library.