Arts & Activism Series
This 6 week workshop series inspired teens to use their smartphone cameras to create art that can be a catalyst for social action.
Interactive discussion: The project began with and interactive discussion about Gordon Parks on MLK day led by our skilled Program Director Chloe Fernandez. The Teens learned about Gordon Park's legacy of using his camera as a tool for both self expression and as a mirror to shine a light on social inequities in his time.
Six Sunday Workshops; Every Sunday teens met with the Program Director and a guest Photographer/Teaching Artist. During this time students learned how to use their smartphone's camera to explore relevant themes in their own lives and spent the next six weeks creating their own photo essays.
The Photographers/ Teaching Artists: who shared their personal photographic journey and taught a specific aspect of photographic technique or ways of seeing.
Ocean Morisset, An accomplished Arts Westchester Grant recipient who is a self-taught Gulf war Veteran. Ocean is a zen-like humanitarian who encouraged students believe in their ability to tell personalized stories through images. They will focused on composition, lighting, framing, capturing motion, saturation, the differences between narrative and street shooting.
Barry Mason, who met and photographed Gordon Parks is an esteemed teacher and accomplished photojournalist who will inspired as well as educated students about how to use their critical thinking skills when framing an image, as well as how to create a photo essay, and use techniques to create tone and depth of meaning in images.
Sara Bennett, who is both a criminal Justice lawyer and a photo documentarian of women who have been incarcerated will explore the nature of portraiture, building a portrait with a purpose, and establishing trust with your subject.
Ridvan Foxhall, is self-taught photographer who uses her images as part of a healing art process to spark joy in her life. She explored the ways in which photography can be a creative outlet and joyful practice in a deeply personal way to capture beauty and bring joy.
Framing and Prep for Public Speaking: At the end of the 6 weeks the teens gathered to critique each others work and help each other select their favorite images to frame for the Photography Show at the Bedford Playhouse. Once each teen has a framed image, all who were interested prepared to talk on stage about their work at the film talk-back panel discussion with the Film Producer, Monica Berra.
Teen Photography Show: The front lobby of the theater contains a small art gallery where WYA mounted a Teen Photography Show which was on display from April6th through May 20th.
Film Screening: On April 6th, 2022 at 7 PM offered a community wide screening of the Gordon Parks Documentary “A Choice of Weapons ” produced by Kundhardt Films/HBO.
Fariha Rahman
Pleasantville High School
“Invisible Heroes”
When we think about what consists of a school, we immediately think of the teachers and students, but we never think about the invisible heroes. They as well ensure a comfortable place for students to enrich in their education. With all of their hard work and achievements, we should appreciate them more.
My project is a series of photographs of essential workers in this high school, specifically cafeteria workers, custodians, and bus drivers. My goal is to photograph you working regularly in school, and then outside of school we take pictures of you in ways that you can express yourself. My purpose for advocating this particular topic in my art project is to portray the inherent dignity of essential workers that help to run our school. I feel that your job title does not distinguish you from the rest of the world, you are people with hobbies and families and dreams, and I want my audience (this school) to appreciate your efforts.
12 years and counting, I always felt safe in my school community. I hope my art here honors everything they have done for schools and expresses my enormous gratitude. Still, I feel it is not enough to thank them. You know all your teachers’ names, but can you name any of the social service staff at your school?
Roxie Bloom
Sleepy Hollow High School
“Youth & the Music Industry”
Music is very different for everyone who partakes in it, but all musicians have a dedication to their music. The music industry has led us to believe that music is solely monetary and value only comes to0 musicians who are successful, but music is still a hobby and a passion for many who don’t wish to pursue it as a profession. My project represents musicians who may not be famous or wealthy, but still find happiness in music. Our love of music shows in our everyday actions.
Danielle Mazlish
Fox Lane High School
“Carbon Emissions in Westchester County”
This photo project reflects my passion for the environment and saving our beautiful earth. Carbon emissions and pollution are just a few examples of the many ways humans are negatively affecting our atmosphere, which is directly causing climate change and environmental destruction. Through these photos, I hoped to achieve a unique representation of carbon emissions and pollution in our everyday lives. By taking these photos and sharing them with others, I hope to advocate for a better and healthier future for our planet. Capturing these photos forced me to notice how much one small difference in everyone’s daily lives can have such a great impact on our planet. From power plants to cars there are always more sustainable alternatives. Our planet is crying out for help and I would say that these photographs portray that in an artistic and unique way.
Emiliano Juarez
White Planes High School
“I wanted to document community organizing and the building of democracy directly from my experience at Citizens University”
The Youth Collaboratory focuses on equipping high schoolers with the necessary skills -as a direct call to action- to build civic power and use it to positively influence our communities. This program is a virtual and in-person format, and we will have required assignments as we learn and develop as civic catalysts. Since this program has started, we have traveled to Seattle, Washington, and we will travel to other select cities in the United States: Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, California. These are in person sessions to strengthen the community amongst every Youth Collab member. In our trip to Seattle, we went through various workshops and activities, and even attended the National Civic Collaboratory where we weighed in on the many civic catalysts creating change across the United States. This is an amazing opportunity that I am a part of, and this program will help shape the power project that I will implement within my own community, which is to build empathy and to connect with other people through viewing the humanity inside each of us.
Emma & Emiliana
The Harvey School
Eleventh graders at The Harvey School, Emma Galgano and Emi Knauer, were inspired to create a photography portfolio oriented around issues prevalent in countless high schools. Emma and Emi took photos of high school students who have faced sexual assault, LGBTQIA+ discrimination, and lack of mental health awareness or support. The images are all of seemingly joyous high school students in their “natural element”, but the editing and the quotations placed on the pictures show that these high school students may seem full of joy on the surface level but are actually struggling with issues internally. A theme that Emi and Emma learned while participating in this project was the theme of adults dismissing issues that teenagers face and labeling high school students as “attention seeking” and “too young to understand.” Therefore, Emi and Emma created this project to raise awareness on issues high school students face and make adults think twice before disregarding teenage experiences.
Zaida Polanco
White Plains High School
“Live Music and Youth”
When I was 3 years old, my fascination with turning my curiosities about the world into melody first sprouted. From writing songs about the sun and the moon falling in love with each other, to eventually seeking catharsis from the typical drama of a teenage girl through composing heartbreak songs with my guitar and voice, songwriting has become embedded within my identity. And now, as a senior in high school, about to embark on a path of individuality, I knew I had to bring my life full circle. Through my high school’s songwriters club, I was able to connect with the talented Lia Catral and Christian Sese (as depicted playing alongside me) and found a groove with them I had never found with any other pair of musicians before. Either it was their talent, or the mere fact that we were all Filipino, but we just clicked. And it was Fall of 2021 that I knew we were meant to be.
Rehearsing our original and cover songs for weeks, spending hours in my basement drilling harmony after harmony, I grew to love this collaboration between musicians. And it was after we played our first cover song together “Last Christmas” by the 80’s band Wham, when we found our name: “PHAM.” Or in other words: Filipino Wham. Working perfectly with our quirky persona, Lia, Christian, and I carried this name with us to our first opening gig together at our local White Plains coffee shop: Hastings Tea and Coffee. From the packed house to the enthusiastic audience, to the steady stream of strangers gravitating to our doors, we were a hit that night. I wouldn’t trade any of those moments for the world, as it brought me back to the same flame that ignited within me at 3 years old: a passion to share stories with the world.
Annissa Khanna
The Harvey School
“Giving Rise to a Counter Narrative to Hyper Acceleration of the Modern World”
Growing up in New York, I, for one, know everything is about moving from one second to the next for everyone. Heads down and eyes forward, there’s every reason for me to say I was born trying to urge looking up, but I know work is a hustle. The introspection that comes from reflecting on what is around you and others, through photographed expression along with the parallel of written expression, adds beautiful vocabulary and understanding and it is my true hope that more of us take the time to acknowledge and appreciate what we do have around us, using it as a gift to see the lives we have in a new lens. I’m so incredibly blessed to have crosses paths with these shots and I’ve fallen in love with the process. My photo advocacy thrill is a huge factor to my storytelling mind giving me all I need to convey a message when my words couldn’t suffice, or be close to adequate enough in comparison to a photo. I love a good photography collection, and a good conversation. To me that’s everything. And what I love is for the counter narrative that’s more.