SoMapagmahal

This five-month mentorship photography project engages and mentors ten current and past youth participants of the Galing Bata Afterschool Program at Bessie Carmichael Filipino Education Center K-8 in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood to learn and use photography as a tool for self and community advocacy. SoMapagmahal is a play on the acronym "SoMa" and "mapagmahal" (an adjective in Tagalog-Filipino that describes someone who is loving, caring, and empathetic). The project is organized by Appendix, a collective of emerging and professional Asian American women, queer and allied artists. The Alternative Exposure grant supports mentor and mentee stipends, an exhibition, and a publication.