Critical Exposure – Using Photography to Capture Life Experiences

Critical Exposure is an Organization started in 2004 with the goals of teaching youth how to use the power of photography to voice their opinions and to advocate for the opportunities and resources they need to succeed. It has successfully made an impact on some of the DC’s low-income students lives and education. “Since our founding in 2004, students have helped secure over $500 million in additional education funds and made crucial improvements in their schools. Changes include: building a new school library, adding new, relevant classes to their high schools, improving the security processes as students enter school, and winning funding for a community garden.”

The Executive Director & Co-Founder Adam Levner had this to say about the Program.

The Program has gained momentum and has received support from Mayer Brown as part of their “Making a Case for Kids” campaign. Making a Case for Kids is a community service and pro bono initiative to support underprivileged children in the Washington, DC area. Mayer Brown hosted a cocktail reception featuring extraordinary 2015-2016 DC High School participants. During the cocktail party, guests were privileged to watch a short film about Critical Exposure.

The overall goals of Critical Exposure are to help the youth gain:

The tools to express themselves;
The creativity to imagine new solutions to old problems;
The belief that youth have the right and ability to fight for those solutions;
The skills to hold communities and public officials accountable.

The DC Voice was able to capture the voices and meanings of the expressions of three youths that participated in the Critical Exposure Program.