SoMapagmahal Photography teachers Erina C. Alejo and Dara Katrina brought their young artists, David, Dayzsha, and Julianna, on stage with them because the whole purpose of their program is to give youth of color the power to tell their own stories. Their goal is to reactivate brown joy, and they are clearly successful.
The SoMapagmahal crew certainly activated the audience at the Museum of African Diaspora. If you can bring half of this excitement to the room, apply to present at the 2018 Arts Ed Alliance Curriculum Slam and register to attend the event on April 19, 2018.
SoMapagmahal Photography Mentorship Program is organized by Erina C. Alejo, Diana Li, Dara Katrina Del Rosario, Dereck Macario and Irwin Simpelo. Their commitment to community organizing, youth empowerment and the arts as well as their individual experiences with diaspora and place have greatly informed their practice. Previously, they organized together and amongst each other within different spaces such as the Galing Bata Afterschool Program, Kearny Street Workshop and the Asian American Women Artists Association.
sketchnotes by Todd Berman, mixed media on paper, 8" x 10", 2017
This event was produced by the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area with support from the San Francisco Arts Commission and Leap - Arts in Education, and was generously hosted by the Museum of African Diaspora.