Current Project

The theme for this year’s #YourTurn is “Publicly Private”. Students will be asked to reflect on and chronicle their day-to-day personal experiences and inner lives. They will be asked to express feelings, mood, and emotions in self-portraiture, performance, journaling and photo diaries.

The work of our guest artists exemplifies the use of personal narrative to create images that speak to the viewer and convey complex personal stories and feelings.

Arielle Bobb-Willis was born and raised in New York City and Suffren, NY, she began using her camera to cope with depression. Inspired by painters – Jacob Lawrence, Max Ernst, Clementine Hunter, her exacting eye takes these inspirations in new directions, her work is both modern and timeless. Interior as exterior. Arielle uses the camera as a vehicle for personal expression and salvation. Her work is joyful and emotional – even when we don’t see a face. Color, movement, and form coincide to reveal something beautiful about landscape, cityscape and the artists’ inner life.

Our second guest artist is Star Montana. Star was born and raised in Los Angeles, in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights, which serves as her canvas. Highly personal, and insightful, her exploration of place and her willingness to go deep in her world has produced work that is compelling, honest and artful.

Visual symbols tell the world who we are, what inspires us, and where we have been. Publicly Private will provide the inspiration and platform for teens to tell stories about their inner selves and communities. See works In-Progress Below

The following photographs are by Harvard Westlake Students inspired by Star Montana and Arielle Bob Willis.