D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities

During the summer of 2011, Critical Exposure worked with a group of ten young women in the D.C. Commission on Arts & Humanities' Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Students held a final exhibit in August at the Department of Employment Services. The youth wrote the following introduction to frame their exhibit, encouraging members of the D.C. arts and employment sectors to think about how they can better support young women through the challenges they face.

"'The Confidante' is a series of photos that chronicles the everyday lives of young women in the District of Columbia. Some of us are in high-school, others are entering college and are looking for jobs. We come from completely different backgrounds, but we all share common experiences. In our SYEP program with Critical Exposure, we took photos to speak out about issues that we face today. Being that all of us are females, we decided to do a project on something that affects us. In this exhibit, you will see the ups and downs that young Washingtonian women face in today's generation. The exhibit includes stories of support, pride, struggles, accomplishments and aspirations. We are the young ladies from Washington, D.C. We are 'The Confidante.'"

After the exhibit Gerren Price, Associate Director of the DOES Office of Youth Programs, said,

"The entire DOES Youth Programs team and I were absolutely blown away by the photo exhibit created by the youth. Through these photos, the youth were able to bring their experiences to life.  We were actually so impressed by them that we would very much like to display them throughout our office for other youth and partners to see."