The AjA Project

Hello Friends! Join us tonight for a special virtual workshop led by Famo Musa and Terrance Carter!

Learn more about Rizzhel Javier, our Managing Director, in this re-run of Keep the Channel Open. Thank you to Mike Sakasegawa for your hard work and dedication to this podcast series. The AjA Project supports the amplification of stories and voices and we appreciate your contributions to the community!

We are thankful for Famo Musa and for the gift of her words. Blessed to have a talented Artist and Poet grow with us at the AjA Project for so many years! Listen to her recite one of her recent poems here in celebration of our Journey Winter program. Join Famo to exercise your poetic voice, in this special Winter session of Journey in collaboration with our friends at Movement BE, and their instructor Terrance Carter! Big thanks to Amanda Wallace and her Team at San Diego County Office of Education for making this collab possible. Hang with Famo and the Movement BE team on Wednesday, 12/30 from 5 to 6PM. To join the class please contact [email protected]

From our dear friend Francisco Eme <3 Director at the Front Arte Cultura.

Some images from Melissa Dueñas and her Tijuana Portfolio, a small glimpse of her photographic work, rooted in curiosity, exploration and friendship. Join us TONIGHT for a screening of HYPERLOCAL VISIONS with Melissa Dueñas and Valerie Bower. Wednesday, 11/25 from 6-7PM broadcasting LIVE on The AjA Project website, link in bio! Watch all episodes on the site and join us for our last episode next week featuring Julio M. Romero and Ingrid Hernandez.... #COMMUNITY

As AjA transitions into a new season of creativity & resilience, we are re-defining our work in terms of the spaces we cultivate, the people we engage, and the liberation we are achieving through our art justice praxis. We are excited grow & transform as an organization, shaped by our new mission and supported by a amazing community like you!

AjA has raised $1600 since we launched our matching campaign where the Parker Foundation will match any donations to the AjA Project upwards to $5000. We still have $3400 to go! As a reminder, we have until the end of August to raise this to qualify for the match-- click the link below to donate! https://www.classy.org/give/119521/#!/donation/checkout

5 Books for Liberation: A list curated by AjA Staff Here are a few great reads to guide you along the journey of decolonizing your mind and the spaces you interact with. Comment your book recommendations below!

The AjA Project is blessed to have been selected to have a match of up to $5000 supported by the Parker Foundation.This means that any new contributions / donations to the AjA Project will be matched 1:1 up to $5000 until August 31st. Now is the time to declare your support of creative documentary practice and social justice by making a donation! https://bit.ly/AjAParker

Between The Masks is a visual documentary project co-created by AjA's founder Shinpei Takeda and board member Alex Fattal. Told through the perspective of AjA teaching artists and participants, the video documentary visually explores the era of COVID-19, uncovering the multiplicity of thoughts and emotions we hide Between the Masks.

Join us today for AjA’s Through My Lens Virtual Exhibition! The exhibition will feature original work by AjA's Through My Lens program participants from Serra High School. AjA's Lead Teaching Artists, Anna Lynch and Janel De La Torre, will guide virtual exhibition attendees on a tour through the Through My Lens virtual gallery space, showcasing original images and narrative by our passionate and talented cohort of youth! Link to Join Live Exhibition: https://zoom.us/j/9113959...0670 Image 1 Digital Photo by Frank Image 2 35mm Film Photo by Salma Image 3 Digital Photo by Celina

On Wednesday, May 27th, AjA’s Through My Lens program will be hosting a live virtual exhibition! Youth program participants will be taking attendees on a virtual tour of their impactful original artworks and sharing their journey with us. Stay tuned for more information in the upcoming week! Virtual EOS date: Wed 5/27 @ 3:30PM Live link will be released in our bio on 5/27

Currently, Otay Mesa Detention Center has the largest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 of all immigration facilities in the country. Those inside are being forced to use makeshift masks, and have been threatened by guards when they demand increased safety measures. In April various pods within the detention facility joined in a hunger strike to demand for their immediate release in light of the increased danger posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is imperative that all th...ose detained are released immediately to prevent further infection and spread of the virus not only within the detention facility but also within the region. This action is being organized in solidarity with those inside who are asking for our help in making their message for release heard. - Otay Mesa Detention Center Resistance For more information visit: omdr.org/donate

Join AjA’s Speak City Heights partner, Media Arts Center San Diego, for their very first Teen Producers Project Spring 2020 Virtual Showcase. Videos will be made available on May 14, 2020. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tppsshowcase2020 Students worked these past 15 weeks to produce their own documentary and narrative films. The Showcase will include 2 narrative and 3 documentary short films by the MACSD’s Teen Producers Project youth.... Featuring the films: Census 2020 A Rainbow in Crisis Through the Tunnel The Final Showing Pretty Close Encounters Videos will be available to view on Vimeo on Thursday, May 14, 2020. When you purchase a ticket, your virtual experience will include a link to our Vimeo page so you can access the videos. On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 12noon, a live Q&A will be broadcast live to our Teen Producers Project Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TeenProducersProject and via the Media Arts Center San Diego YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/macsd. Help us raise money for future Teen Producers Project equipment by purchasing a ticket! Each ticket sale will better supply our youth with the technology and equipment they need to voice their stories in this fast moving industry. Virtual Ticket Price: $12.00 (72-hour streaming period)

Amid these trying times it is imperative we stay connected to the creativity and passion that drive us. Whether it is writing a poem, singing a song, dancing, or taking a photo (our personal favorite), make sure to tap into your creativity today!

Through My Lens participants have come together over the past few weeks to discuss the ways their lives have been impacted by COVID-19, while maintaining a safe virtual space with a group of their peers. Focusing on life during quarantine through photographic documentation, participants highlight what they are doing to combat isolation and simulate a sense of normalcy despite these uncertain times. . . Image 01 Caption: "When quarantine shoppers don't load up on the junk food...." Image 02 Caption: "Trying to stay on schedule." Image 03 Caption: "Candles + Meditation = A Relaxed Quarantine" Photos by Tomas S., age 17 . . AjA's Through My Lens (TML) program provides youth an opportunity to process experiences, reclaim narrative and advocate for community change through photography. See more

Over 200 people received free fresh fruit at the new weekly Fruit Swap at Fair at 44. Come by Wednesdays for free fruit (donations or pick ups)! Footage by Carlos B. Solorio.