la sirena studio — iSWD Programming — Inside Southwest Detroit

Posts tagged la sirena studio

The project, a special limited edition run of The Southwest Detroiter featuring Zoë Villegas’s ‘Standing In The Shadows of Love’ with photographs by Erik Paul Howard, was hand-assembled during Gabriela Baginski’s weekly Photo Arts sessions at La Sirena Studio on The Alley Project.

She led the group through a series of hands-on book making lessons.

More than a dozen hands helped put it all together over several weeks—measuring, sewing, and learning how to make books along the way in a community setting.

And now they’re done. The limited edition of 25 zines will be made available to the public and proceeds support youth and community development through the arts as well as your local artists.

Community, ProgrammingInside Southwest DetroitFebruary 12, 2020the southwest detroiter, photo arts, gabriela baginski, la sirena studio, zoe villegas, standing in the shadows of love, PoTAP

Bringing Home Lessons from The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Photoville

Nine artists from Inside Southwest Detroit (4 mentors and 5 students) and several community partners traveled to Brooklyn for Photoville and visits with artists and organizations across NYC. The trip was an opportunity to lay an inspirational and educational foundation for young photographers while collectively building opportunities and our network.

Member organizations of the Young Detroit Photo Society—Capturing Belief, Darkroom Detroit, and Inside Southwest Detroit with La Sirena Studio—convened daily to share time and ideas to build on back home.

The cohort arranged one-on-one time with photographers, visits to youth photography initiatives and the communities they serve, interviews, and tours of container exhibitions with artists from around the US and the world.

Michael Kamber at The Bronx Documentary Center and Abigaíl Montes at International Center of Photography at The Point shared particularly inspirational and relevant programming and curriculum, community exhibitions, and spaces that provided insights and opportunities for lasting relationships between Southwest Detroit and the Bronx.

We also visited The Brooklyn Museum and community photo exhibitions in Brooklyn, Manhattan, in the Bronx, several foundations to learn more about their work (Magnum Foundation, ArtPlace America), and with photographers Jamal Shabazz, Rachel Wisniewski, Joseph Rodriguez, and Ruddy Roye.

Inside Southwest DetroitSeptember 30, 2019young detroit photo society, capturing belief, darkroom detroit, bronx documentary center, international center of photography at the point, la sirena studio, photoville, rachel wisniewski, ruddy roye, joseph rodriguez, jamal shabazz, brooklyn museum, abigail montes, my beloved bronx, potap, magnum foundaion, magnum foundation, artplace america

Photoville 2019 | Brooklyn, NY

A key dimension of the Porch on TAP is artistic exchange—connecting the people of Southwest Detroit to the people and places of other communities. This year we extended this practice through attendance at Photoville, a public photo festival in Brooklyn featuring activated public spaces and educational programming.

Gabriela Baginski facilitated five planning sessions ahead of the trip previewing and preparing the group for the opportunities that lay ahead in the numerous exhibits and workshops, coaching young artists on interviewing skills, and coordinating visits.

At Photoville stacked shipping containers, sprawling cubes of printed canvas, and workshops animated the festival. Everywhere the eye could see was layered with inspiration and education. The opportunities came to life as photographers from around the world interacted with the exhibits and each other—trading critiques, innovations, and contact info.

Nine artists from southwest Detroit, 4 mentors and 5 students, traveled together to the exhibit by van in addition to several community partners who were able to participate separately, meeting us in NYC. Member organizations of the Young Detroit Photo Society—Capturing Belief, Darkroom Detroit, and Inside Southwest Detroit with La Sirena Studio—convened daily to share time, stories, schedules and ideas to build on back home.

Several factors came together this year for the opportunity to take full advantage of what Photoville has to offer. Executive Director Erik Paul Howard’s photo series, The Lowriders, was featured in the national tour of ‘The Fence’ that kicked off at PhotoVille this year.

Also Documenting Detroit, a photography fellowship and community partner, hosted a container exhibiting work from current and past fellows including each mentor on the trip—Rosa Maria Zamarron (‘16), Gabriela Baginski (‘16), Samantha Otto (‘17), and Erik Paul Howard (‘17). Behind the scenes inclusion in staffing a container and the access to other exhibitors enhanced the experience for both mentors and students.

The planning, road trip, exhibition, and wandering connected the group to people and places of communities in NYC and around the world—and also in deeper relationship with each other.

ProgrammingInside Southwest DetroitSeptember 20, 2019documenting detroit, capturing belief, darkroom detroit, ydps, la sirena studio, photoville, PoTAPComment

Photo Arts and Mentoring with Gabriela Baginski of La Sirena Studio

Gabriela Baginski of La Sirena studio shares her passion for photography every chance she gets… from classes at local schools to presentations and workshops with community organizations, her processes are engaging and impactful.

Most recently Gabriela has been building with a group of aspiring photographers through photo arts and mentoring at Inside Southwest Detroit.

Learning from others’ work is inspirational… her students are being exposed to a range of photographers’ works while also creating their own in a variety of educational exercises. In this way, hands-on, they are learning about processes in creating their own inspirational products.

In small group and one on one sessions she is sharing info and skills tailored to meet aspiring photographers where they are—teaching them how to use their camera equipment, save and manage their files, set up lighting, properly exposing photos to save time in post processing and more.

ProgrammingInside Southwest DetroitJuly 26, 2019photo, photo arts, southwest detroit, swdetroit, la sirena studio