The Aja Project

THE AJA PROJECT IS A COMPASSIONATE SPACE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, ACTIVISTS, VISUAL ARTISTS AND EDUCATORS TO ENGAGE CRITICALLY WITH ISSUES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITY AND REALIZE OUR COLLECTIVE LIBERATION THROUGH PARTICIPATORY STORYTELLING AND THE DOCUMENTARY ARTS.

PROGRAMS:THE AJA PROJECT EXISTS TO IGNITE CHANGE, BREAK CYCLES OF MARGINALIZATION, AND TO BUILD HEALTHY COMMUNITIES. TO ACHIEVE THIS, AJA PROVIDES PARTICIPATORY ART AND MEDIA ARTS PROGRAMMING TO UNDERSERVED, MARGINALIZED, AND DISPLACED YOUTH, WHILE AMPLIFYING THEIR VOICES TO ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE.PUBLIC ART: THE AJA PROJECT HAS SHARED ITS VISUAL NARRATIVES WITH OVER 3 MILLION VIEWERS THROUGH LARGE-SCALE PUBLIC EXHIBITS. AJA'S PUBLIC ART PORTFOLIO HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE PAST YEAR AS WE BARE WITNESS TO THE POWER OF PUBLIC ART TO IGNITE IMPORTANT SOCIAL CONVERSATIONS, PROMOTE CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING AND FOSTER A SENSE OF COLLECTIVE BELONGING IN DIVERSE COMMUNITIES. IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS ALONE, THIS HAS INCLUDED PARTICIPATORY INSTALLATIONS - SHORT-TERM, LONG-TERM, AND PERMANENT - AT THE SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THE SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF MAN, MARKET CREEK PLAZA IN SOUTHEAST SAN DIEGO, THE EAST AFRICAN CULTURAL CENTER IN CITY HEIGHTS, AND MANY OTHERS. FEE-FOR-SERVICE:AJA ALSO CONTINUED TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE OUR FEE-FOR-SERVICE PROGRAM REVENUE STREAM CREATED LAST FISCAL YEAR - A MODEL THAT HELPS TO SUPPLEMENT OUR GRANT AND CONTRIBUTION REVENUE. BY PARTNERING WITH THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH DIRECTLY FUND AJA'S PROGRAMS AND/OR PUBLIC ART PROJECTS, AJA HAS DIVERSIFIED REVENUE STREAMS, THUS INCREASING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FUNDING:CAJON VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTMEDIA ARTS CENTER OF SAN DIEGOSAN DIEGO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATIONMULTICULTURAL HEALTH FOUNDATIONPARTNERSHIP FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF NEW AMERICANSKPBSSAN DIEGO DIPLOMACY COUNCILTHE JACOBS CENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD INNOVATIONPRICE CHARITIES THE SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF MANTHE SAN DIEGO ART INSTITUTEJUVENILE COURTCOMMUNITY SCHOOLS