This summer 100 photos, 80 banners, 6 photo murals, and one 70-foot banner will cover University Avenue from 40th to 54th Streets in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood. These photos were taken by refugee youth living in City Heights and originally from East Africa and Southeast Asia. This exhibit, entitled Inter+Sections, is presented by The AjA Project and kicked off on June 4th, 2005, in conjunction with the 13th Annual City Heights International Village Celebration. The exhibit will remain up until the end of August 2005.
Inter+Sections will:
- bring locally produced public art and cross cultural dialogue to City Heights, a highly diverse community that is in the midst of a development renaissance
- provide refugee youth with a unique opportunity to see their work woven into the fabric of their neighborhood
- promote photography as a potent means of communication
Photographs will be displayed as large-scale posters and banners in storefronts, on exterior walls and fences, as street light banners and at other locations along a 1.7-mile stretch of University Ave. The artwork will also incorporate the students written narratives in English and translated into Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese. This will make the display accessible to as many members of the San Diego community as possible. Art is a powerful tool for engaging refugee youth as strong voices and active participants in the San Diego community.
