San Diego, CA - September 4, 2007 - Sanctuary143 welcomes to the September 20th event the work of The AjA Project, an international non-profit organization that directs a visionary program to teach photography to refugee and immigrant youth. Fifty-three thousand people entered the USA for resettlement in 2005¹ alone, and a large proportion of these individuals from East Africa, Southesast Asia, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Iraq have sought refuge here in San Diego. The AjA Project's program cultivates these students' ability to educate and develop mutual understanding with the individuals of their surrounding community through art, as they share their stories and build confidence for the future.

In support of this unorthodox and moving approach to art and community, Sanctuary143 will host a reception for the AjA students' photographs on September 20th in its Solana Beach gallery. The event is free and open to the public from 7:00 to 11:00 pm with live music, wine, and refreshments.

Having shown at the New York United Nations Building, the San Diego Museum of Art, and most recently at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park, The AjA Project's exhibits have been viewed by 500,000 people from 2001 to 2006 in three countries. In addition, vinyl prints have been erected along high traffic areas of neighborhoods throughout San Diego, providing a contrasting venue that allows for some of the students' immediate communities to experience, react, and to literally be guided on a day to day basis by their work.

The youth are involved in a multi-faceted approach to art that allows them to express stories of displacement, family, and culture through this public display and discussion of their photographs. In the words of Betti-Sue Hertz, Curator of Contemporary Art at the San Diego Museum of Art, "The photographs on display are a remarkable testament to the power of images in the hands of youth... It is an act of discovery and a vehicle for the youth to share their wonderment and stories while building self-esteem and a sense of belonging."

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¹ UNHCR 2006 report