TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image

Teen Photo

Teen Photo is a free, comprehensive photography after-school program focused on visual literacy, studio and street photography, and using the image as a material. Students will learn the basics of photography and photoshop, how to plan and build a creative body of work, participate in a group exhibition, and create their own photo book! This program welcomes artists and creatives of all levels and mediums, and the curriculum spans from novice to college prep. Students will be provided with their own camera if needed, and access to a state of the art lab complete with editing software, printers, and scanners for the duration of the program. 

Teen Photo promotes and fosters critical thinking, socio-political awareness, and community building. By engaging in discussions with their cohort, students will discover diverse points of view, learn how imagery has shaped the world, and how they can impact the world with image making. Students participate in photo walks for street and landscape photography, and learn how to set up lights and backdrops for studio photography.

Over 70% of our students’ schools do not offer photography classes. We guide our students through the process of understanding visual literacy. Learning to think critically and creatively through photography opens up a love of learning and helps students grow in many aspects of their academic and personal lives.

This program looks great on transcripts, resumes, and CV’s, will grant students with access to mentors, provides artistic and academic resources, and professional development. The program runs from October through June, and students will choose one day (Mon. Tue. Wed. or Thurs.) for class, but will retain access to their camera, the library, and the lab for the entirety of the program.

The program begins on Oct 17, 2022, and classes are from 4pm-6pm.

Interested students may join us by filling out the application here. We will be in touch before class begins in October.

If you have any questions please contact Danielle Morris at dmorris@tiltinstitute.org.

2021 Teaching Artists

Danielle Morris is a self-taught photographer who mainly works in street and self-portraiture. Danielle is a teaching artist in Drexel University’s Writers Room, a university-community literary arts program engaged in creative placemaking and art for social justice. Danielle contributed to the 2018-19 “Women’s Mobile Museum” residency led by South African visual activist Zanele Muholi. She has exhibited at the Colored Girls Museum’s (2019), the 2018 SPACES Residency, “Home Court” lead by visual artist Shawn Theodore, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and The Barnes Foundation.

Arely Peña Arely is from Monterrey, Nuevo León and Houston, Texas. She received her BFA from the University of Houston in 2018 and her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021. She currently lives and works in Philadelphia.

Past Exhibitions
Support

Teen Photo is supported by The Julian A. and Lois G. Brodsky Foundation, Connelly Foundation, David A. Cook Beautiful, Useful, Joyful Memorial Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, The Nessa Forman, David Forman, Eleanor and Solomon Forman Family Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial, The Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, Kinder Morgan Foundation, Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, The Christopher Ludwick Foundation, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, PNC Charitable Trusts, and The Lawrence Saunders Fund.

You can help us serve more teens making a donation to TILT Institute today.

Donate Now

Check out our Amazon wishlist to see what we need for this year. If you make a purchase, it will come right to our doors!