First Exposures Zine Release party!

Well this semester of mentoring is wrapping up and the final event will be the zine release party at Adobe Books on Friday June 5, 2009.  I’ve had a great time working with the kids in the program and some of the zines are really neat.  The digital class did theirs using digital images and technology with the film class used more analog techniques.  All of the zines will be available and I think a limited edition t-shirt will also be on sale at the release party so come by and support First Exposures and the awesome kids in the program!

Here’s the official invite email from Education Coordinator Erik Auerbach:

Dear First Exposures friends & supporters,
We are wrapping up our most exciting and adventurous year yet. Much has happened in our program since you last heard from us. This year marked the first year of First Exposures providing two different classes, serving a total of 27 students each semester. Every year we are continually impressed with the creativity and dedication the students bring to our weekly classes, and of course, we can’t forget to mention our invaluable mentors who dedicate so much of their time and energy to our program.

The spring semester opened with the exhibition United in Nima, which was the culmination of our collaboration with the Ghana Youth Photo Project and trip to Ghana in the summer of 2008. As an extension of the exhibit, many of our students in the Digital Photography class participated in the creation of a multimedia presentation for Adobe Youth Voices, now on view on Adobe’s website, YouTube, and SF Camerawork’s website. Please have a look if you haven’t yet seen it; it’s pretty spectacular! Several of our students also had their photography included in some outside exhibitions on both sides of the Bay this spring.

As part of our mission to expose students to different artists, we enjoyed a number of field trips to various galleries and museums this spring. We had the pleasure of hosting several guest artists, including former Black Panther Party Minister of Culture Emory Douglas, who spent the better part of a day inspiring our students with his imagery and stories.

Our main project for the year focused on exploring alternative forms of publishing: students created their own ‘zines (handmade magazines), which will be shared with the public and on display at Adobe Books. The opening celebration will take place on June 5th from 5 – 7 pm. We will also be premiering the all new, super cool First Exposures t-shirts to help support the program. Get them while supplies last!!!!