Opportunities in City Heights: “Everyone has a chance to succeed”
AjA’s PhotoCity class at Crawford High School has spent the last couple of weeks using abstract photography to showcase the negative and positive aspects of socializing in City Heights. Fernanda, age 16, captured two images that she felt represented the positive and negative sides to her local social life. However, Fernanda’s images also exhibit the...
‘Still some really good opportunities’ in City Heights
If you’ve been following the AjA Project Speak City Heights blog, you know that students have been reflecting on the positive and negative sides to socializing in City Heights as a teenager. One student, Michael, age 16, is doing just that. He created two images, one that represents a negative side and one that represents...
City Heights youth: ‘Give teens more places to go’
As part of the Speak City Heights collaborative, AjA is continuing PhotoCity classes at local schools in City Heights. At Crawford High School, students are focusing their photography on examining the social opportunities available to them within their community. In particular, students are examining both the positive and negative aspects of socializing in City Heights....
‘The most beautiful pearl is in the most ugliest shell’
AjA students, through the PhotoCity program, are constantly reflecting on how City Heights affects their lives as the youth of the community. They recently took a field trip around City Heights to photograph what they like and don’t like about City Heights, and how they would make things better if they were in charge. While...
CHS student identifies importance of after-school tutors
The AjA Project is continuing its collaborative with Speak City Heights and we have some amazing work coming from our PhotoCity class at Crawford High School. Crawford students were asked to focus their photo essay on what most affects their health at school. Ismahan, age 18, chose to draw attention to the importance of after-school...
AjA student looks at the effects of large class sizes
As part of The AjA Project Photocity program, students at Crawford High School spent time using participatory photography to examine what factors at their school effect their health. This week we are showcasing a photo essay by Crawford High School student, Hawa, age 18. She used her photo essay as an opportunity to highlight the issue...
CHS student examines school lunches
This week’s AjA Project photo essay was created by a Crawford High School senior, Alex, as a part of the Speak City Heights collaborative on health issues in City Heights. Alex choose to look at the options available during school lunch. In her words, “The reason why I chose [this topic] is because I am...
Student at CHS speaks out about graffiti at school
The Speak City Heights collaborative is in full swing and students at Crawford High School are adding their voices to the conversation. Using photography and narrative, students are examining health issues at Crawford—physical, mental and social health—and speaking to the issues that most directly affect their daily lives. One student, Karla, chose to create a...
Participatory photography project helps refugees voice need for medical translation
AjA recently partnered on an exciting, new short-term project called Face to Face with the Mid-City CAN’s Access to Health Care momentum team. Access to Health Care is a community advocacy group calling for in-person interpretation services to be available at all clinics and hospitals in San Diego. Every member of the team has a...
City Heights: A Youth Perspective
As many of you know, AjA has started a new program called PhotoCity, a participatory photography program that teaches youth to turn the lens outward and critically examine community issues that affect their daily lives. At the completion of the workshops, AjA guides students to identify the most salient themes, and facilitates partnerships with local...
AjA Project SCH land use map
As a part of the Speak City Heights initiative, students at Monroe Clark Middle School identified areas in the City Heights area that were beautiful, ugly, scary, safe and unsafe. They looked at the patterns and discussed why those areas felt safe, unsafe, etc. They then photographed those areas. The themes that emerged from this...
