With support from the California Arts Council, and in partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education Juvenile Court and Community Schools, The AjA Project presents, “where you are. is not who you are.”, is a body of artwork created across three detention facilities by students formerly committed to the Girls Rehabilitation Facility, East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, and Camp Barrett Correctional Facility.

The Re-Entry Through the Arts program was a collaboration between AjA and the Career Readiness and Technical Education program. The projects delved into the integration of photography into CTE and work readiness courses, emphasizing the technical and conceptual processes involved in creating. where you are. is not who you are. reflects artwork that disrupts dominant narratives held about youth, allowing them to reclaim their own truths.

Based in City Heights, The AjA Project provides photography-based educational programming to displaced and under-served youth; students think critically about their identities, develop leadership skills and become agents of personal and social transformation.