Artist Statement

When I first learned that I would be doing a service learning element for my film 150 class, I was a little bit overwhelmed, especially when I learned that I had to present what I had learned in a blog format. I have no previous experiences blogging and only really think of it in terms of something that older people do as a way to fight over the internet, so needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive.

The photos I took were supposed to represent the things I saw at Our Next Generation without passing any form of judgment upon the community group. I find that that is the best way to present images, in their starkest form, so that people are allowed to form their own conclusions. The photos are mostly of the signs that I saw that people had made at Our Next Generation. I think these posters and signs say a lot about who made them, and the purpose they serve. The whole palate of the photo essay is full of bright colors that represent the youthfulness of the organization and that type of teenage aesthetic.

I learned most about the organization from interviewing a young woman, Amari Carrington, that does part-time work at Our Next Generation, and is pictured in the last slide of the video essay. She told me about the connection between the neighborhood youth and the community. Amari's job itself is a product of a federal work study. She was very involved in Our Next Generation as a youth attending Westside Academy (which Our Next Generation is affiliated with) and then as a teen attending CEO Leadership Academy, and now sees her job as a way Our Next Generation gives back to the community.

She described that Our Next Generation was a place she could go after school to feel safe, and also told me about the programs ONG held like clothes donations, back-pack give-backs, and free tutoring as ways to contribute to the community. Indeed, the organization's relationship with the community is evident in the simple fact of it's location in a community church. In a neighborhood that might seem off-putting to outsiders, the community created organizations like Our Next Generation where its youngest members can congregate as well as learn about the community itself.