Flower City Arts Center: Studio 678 Photo Club
Eighth-grader Javiair, currently in his third year with Studio 678. Photo by eighth-grader Nhaziah Bedell-Scott, currently in her third year with Studio 678, 2023.
“Mx. Devin’s Group.” Devin, current Studio 678 instructor served as member of the program when these students were in middle school. Photo by Devin Gray Hull, 2023.
Photo by either-grader Jah'mell Porter, currently in his third year with Studio 678, 2023.
Presented in the Gallery Obscura this spring will be creative works by students who are a part of the 2023–24 Flower City Arts Center’s Studio 678 Photo Club. These photographs and texts are inspired by the students’ vision of the world around them.
Started in 1999 as an eight-week pilot project, Studio 678 Photo Club is now an annual thirty-five-week after-school program, and in its twenty-sixth consecutive year. The program is offered free of charge to students in grades six through eight in the Rochester City School District.
Working with program mentors and volunteers, thirty participants in the fall of 2023 learned how to use a professional film camera and develop film. With these acquired skills, students took the lead on their art process from beginning to end. In a very hands-on creative journey, students practiced photography within the studio and around the community, as well as made their own black-and-white prints in a darkroom. Participants also wrote poems and stories to accompany their photographs, which were matted and framed by the museum’s exhibition team. Additionally, students worked in a digital lab to create a collaborative book of their images and writings, weaving together their narratives.
Through the camera and creative writing projects, Studio 678 Photo Club students have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of their community and build connections. All of the projects in the program are designed to enhance knowledge of core school subjects, develop conceptual thinking skills, build confidence, and empower youth to express their vision and voice.
Poetry Readings with Studio 678
April 10, 11, 17, 18. 24
4:30 pm, in Gallery Obscura
Join us on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons throughout April to celebrate the photography and poetry of Rochester City School District students. Each week, different students from Studio 678 will read their poetry that accompanies their photograph in their exhibition in Gallery Obscura.
About Gallery Obscura
The museum's new Gallery Obscura space features exhibitions created or presented in collaboration with community institutions and school and youth programs, projects focused on Greater Rochester, and exhibitions from the collections that are thematically related to regional events or that support other museum initiatives and programming.
Generously sponsored by Nocon & Associates
Exhibition Proposal Submissions
Please submit exhibition proposals for the Gallery Obscura to Gallery
About Flower City Arts Center
Flower City Arts Center is a community-based not-for-profit organization that educates, encourages, and inspires all people to create and enjoy the visual arts. Established in 1970, Flower City Arts Center offers classes and workshops for youths and adults with an emphasis on three areas: photography and digital arts, printmaking and book arts, and ceramics. It also provides exhibition spaces and facilities for studio artists. The center has an ongoing commitment to art for all people, and its programs are available to community members of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds.
Flower City Arts Center is an institutional member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education. Flowercityarts.org
