SoEx’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) springs into action this winter with three new artist mentors: Eve Ekman, Tara Foley and Sham Saenz. From January – June 2008, the YAB crew digs into the real issues YAB members are thinking about in their daily lives and want to figure out how to creatively express. What does self-realization look like? Through the creation of conceptual self-portraits utilizing a wide range of visual art forms, YAB members attempt to find out.

YAB is a group of high school students, college students, and artists from diverse communities throughout the Bay Area. YAB serves as a task force to empower youth through arts advocacy, events and workshops. Southern Exposure teaches YAB members to use art as a community-building tool and provides them with a space to create their own events and have their collective voices heard.

All Youth Advisory Board projects are youth initiated and produced. In the past, YAB has successfully produced its launch party, a screening of youth produced film and video, an all-day youth event featuring performers, artwork, and activities by other exemplary arts programs, curated a youth art exhibitions, and hosta youth arts and culture website.