San Diego Art Institute is pleased to announce the second installation of “Self-Titled” opening at Linksoul Lab on Saturday, August 27 from 6-8pm. This collaborative exhibition is a collection of work created by teens participating in arts education programs across San Diego County. Highlighted here are graphic novels, text, photography, video work, and drawings born out of Words Alive’s Adolescent Book Group; AjA Project’s Collective Voices; San Diego Art Institute’s Expressive Arts Program; and a curated selection of work from North County teens. These are artifacts of becoming; still frames of durational processes in which selfhood is formed in, through, and against influence which seeks to delimit, ultimately expanding preordained parameters through the exercise of personal agency via artistic expression. Self-Titled was exhibited at SDAI in June, and will be on view at Linksoul Lab (530 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside) from August 27- September 5, hosted by The Hill Street Country Club - a nonprofit art organization based in North County San Diego. Admission is free.
About Words Alive’s “Adolescent Book Group”
The Words Alive Adolescent Book Group (ABG) program serves at-risk adolescents, many of whom have experienced extraordinary circumstances such as violence, pregnancy, and homelessness. ABG and corresponding writing programs are offered twice monthly at 22 Juvenile Court and Community Schools classrooms across San Diego County, reaching over 450 teens each year as a means to encourage students to think critically between themes within literacy and their own environment. For this project, the students read and discussed the graphic novel War Brothers by Sharon McKay and focused on the common theme of “identity: a defining moment in your life.” Words Alive partnered with Making Comics Worldwide in developing curriculum for students to create their own mini graphic novel. Each completed piece has been anthologized, and select pieces have been chosen for this exhibit.
About AjA Project’s “Collective Voices”
The AjA Project provides photography-based programming to transform the lives of youth and communities. AjA’s “Collective Voices” program works with Muslim youth from United Women of East Africa to use photo techniques to reflect on their cultural and personal identities.
North County Teen Artwork
Students in grades 8-12 were challenged to develop strong and original visual expression. Twelve students in each semester-long session delve into intensive visual art practices, create two portfolio pieces and produce a student-installed exhibition. The work is professionally published, furnishing students with a resource for college entrance and scholarship applications.
About San Diego Art Institute’s “Expressive Arts Program”
San Diego Art Institute has collaborated with artist and licensed therapist Tish Sjoberg in a program serving young artists at Marcy School: a Title 1 alternative high school and rehabilitation center. SDAI and Sjoberg have designed programming that teaches art with a specific emphasis on emotional wellbeing, self care, and safe and informed decision-making. Students learn to heal and utilize healthy modes of expression to communicate their experiences.
Sponsored by the Hill Street Country Club and the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture