IMAG(IN)E is a free summer photography program for high school students in New York City, founded by visual artists Collin Riggins and Max Diallo Jakobsen alongside Bronx-native and community champion Majora Carter. Classes take place every Saturday from at the Boogie Down Grind Cafe located at 868 Hunts Point Ave, Bronx, NY 10474. All students who reside in New York City are welcome to apply, with a particular emphasis on those living in the Bronx. No formal background in photography is necessary. The deadline to apply for the 2024 cycle is July 12, 2024 at 11:59pm. Applicants will hear back by July 14, 2024 with updates.

About the program

The camera has historically been a tool of power, often used to document black life in violent ways. But that is not the full story of the black photographic tradition. IMAG(IN)E situates itself in a tradition of black photographers who have leveraged film photography to reimagine what black living looks and feels like. These photographers push the medium beyond its conventional limits, they photograph in places otherwise unseen, and they fundamentally contest notions of beauty, power, value, and community.

Equipping NYC high schoolers with the knowledge and tools of film photography, IMAG(IN)E challenges students to think within the black photographic tradition and critically engage their communities through photography. By democratizing access to photography, we hope to foster new ways of seeing and expressing life in and around the Bronx — to create a unique space for students to tell their own stories with the care they merit. In so doing, the program aims to showcase how photography can serve not only as a tool for documentation and advocacy but also as a means to draw closer to oneself, one's family, and one's community.

Over the 6-week course, IMAG(IN)E will immerse young creatives in the rich legacy and potential of analog photography through weekly classes. Each session will offer both an introduction to the historical backdrop of photography, as well as hands-on workshop sessions to begin experimenting with the acquired skills. Optional field trips, artist visits, and opportunities will also be scheduled periodically throughout the program’s duration to allow students to further engage the core concepts of the course. Each week, students are expected to complete a short photography assignment, which will familiarize them with the camera and help hone their own unique approach to photography. These assignments will culminate in a final project of student's’ own design which will be showcased in a final group exhibition at Bronxlandia in September. Upon completing IMAG(IN)E, students will leave with a robust set of knowledge and their very own 35mm film camera to continue chasing photography. 

For any questions or inquiries, please reach out to cariggins01@hotmail.com.