Power and Creativity in Portraiture with First Exposures at The de Young Museum

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Immerse yourself in the power of portraiture with First Exposures, a nationally-recognized youth photography mentorship program in the San Francisco Bay Area. Enjoy a retrospective showcasing 28 years of youth work focused on portraiture and get your picture taken by First Exposures alumni in a pop-up studio featuring an exhibition-inspired backdrop designed by Adia Millett.

This event is part of a three-part series celebrating the The Obama Portraits Tour at the de Young museum in collaboration with long-standing Bay Area youth organizations: Youth Art Exchange, First Exposures, and 826 Valencia, highlighting youth art, creativity, and activism in the Bay Area.

Schedule
10:30 am–4 pm: Photography showcase, Wilsey Court
10:30 am–12:30 pm: Pop-up portrait studio, outside of the Koret Auditorium
1–3 pm: Pop-up portrait studio, outside of the Koret Auditorium

About First Exposures
First Exposures, a project of the Tides Center, is a Bay Area photography mentorship program for youth ages 11–18 who have been impacted by socio-economic inequity. Serving 140 youth annually, First Exposures uses the power of art and creativity to cultivate courage, confidence, and well-being in young people. Over 60% of program participants show an increase in markers of resiliency and over 95% graduate from high school to pursue a college education.

About Adia Millett
Adia Millett, originally from Los Angeles, California received her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. In 2001, she moved to New York City for the prestigious Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, followed by the Studio Museum in Harlem residency program. Millett currently lives and works between Oakland and Los Angeles.

About the Exhibition
From the moment of their unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in February 2018, the official portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama became iconic. The artists behind the portraits, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, have throughout their careers addressed the lack of Black representation in Western art history, using portraiture to explore complex issues of identity. Wiley and Sherald are the first African Americans to be commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to create official portraits of a president or first lady. The Obama Portraits Tour is a nationwide tour expected to reach millions who might not otherwise have an opportunity to view these remarkable paintings.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.