Events
Each year, Outside The Lens hosts three signature events to welcome the San Diego community into our creative world. Join us as we create spaces for creativity, growth, and connection with Ignite, Voice Out, and our OTL Open House!
Ignite
Ignite is an annual event hosted by Outside The Lens (OTL) to celebrate creativity, innovation, and transformation within San Diego’s vibrant artistic community.
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Voice Out: Youth Media Art Exhibition • Submit by March 23rd!
Voice Out is a youth-driven media arts exhibition. This annual event furthers our mission to ignite confidence in young people to pursue creative pathways and drive social change.
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Open House
Outside The Lens’ Open House is a vibrant celebration of creativity and community. Held in August at our state-of-the-art Wonder Lab in San Diego’s East Village, this event provides a unique opportunity to experience the transformative power of media arts.
See DetailsAlong with our 3 signature events, we also host workshops, student exhibitions, film screenings, and guest speaker sessions throughout the year.
Upcoming Events
Land+Lenses: Portraits of Belonging
Step into a rotating outdoor photo studio where you’ll create portraits inspired by the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire. Each element represents themes like grounding, movement, and transformation. You’ll use props, explore different photography techniques, and reflect on your relationship to nature and belonging. By the end, you’ll have a series of portraits that […]
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Land+Lenses: 1,000 Days
At this beachside workshop, you’ll set up an outdoor studio to document the impact of pollution and restricted access to public spaces. Through photography and sign-making, you’ll bring awareness to the effects of contamination from the Tijuana River and discuss the importance of land stewardship. Standing on a beach that has been closed for over […]
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Land+Lenses: Park Not Dump
You’ll turn your focus to the park’s environment, exploring how contamination affects interconnected landscapes. You’ll discuss the relationship between land, water, and pollution while using photography and sign-making to advocate for environmental responsibility. This session encourages you to reclaim and reimagine public spaces through creative expression and activism. Come to a free Land and Lenses […]
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Land+Lenses: Planting Memories
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll create botanical prints on fabric or paper using native plants and cyanotype techniques. You’ll learn about photography’s connection to botanical documentation while reflecting on personal and cultural memories tied to the land. As you experiment with eco-printing, you’ll explore how nature can be both an artistic medium and a storyteller. […]
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Land+Lenses: Landscape Dreams
Using a Polaroid camera, you’ll capture landscapes and overlay your images with personal reflections, drawings, or written intentions. Through guided prompts, you’ll explore your relationship with the land and dream about what an ideal park or community space could look like. At the end, you’ll contribute to a collective collage, creating a visual representation of […]
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Land+Lenses: Sea & Story
Join a plein air painting session where you’ll paint the ocean and waves, contributing to a collective artwork that visually connects each participant’s piece. You’ll also record the sound of ocean waves, capturing movement and rhythm in both visual and auditory forms. This workshop invites you to reflect on the power of water, interconnectedness, and […]
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Voice Out 2025
Outside the Lens invites you to Voice Out, its second annual juried youth media arts exhibition on May 3rd, 2025 from 4-7 p.m. at The Wonder Lab, a media arts hub in San Diego’s East Village. THIS EVENT celebrates the voices and stories of young artists from San Diego. OVER 100 ARTWORKS ranging from photography, illustration, mixed media and […]
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Land+Lenses: Compost & Connect
Explore composting as a metaphor for transformation and healing. Guided by a guest artist, you’ll create compost dolls—biodegradable figures that can be planted or turned into chia pets. Through hands-on activities and discussion, you’ll reflect on cycles of life, grief, and renewal, considering how nature models regeneration through decay and growth. Come to a free […]
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Land+Lenses: Waves of Words
Breathwork, Poetry, and Open Mic… Immerse yourself in a creative space that blends deep breathing, poetry, and live music. You’ll participate in guided writing exercises, reflect on personal and collective experiences, and have the opportunity to share your words in an open mic setting. With the sounds of the ocean as a backdrop, this workshop […]
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Land+Lenses: Rituals & Remedies
Engage your senses in an immersive exploration of herbalism and ritual. You’ll move through interactive stations, tasting locally foraged teas, crafting intention-based spell jars, making smudge bundles, and contributing to a community recipe book. As you work with plants, you’ll reflect on traditional knowledge, self-care, and your relationship with the land. Come to a free […]
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Land+Lenses: Nature in Focus
Discover how portraiture and nature photography can be powerful tools for environmental advocacy. You’ll learn photography techniques using DSLR cameras and experiment with capturing landscapes and portraits. Through discussion, you’ll reflect on your connection to nature and explore how images can be used to inspire change and bring awareness to environmental issues. Come to a […]
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Land+Lenses: Art In Action
In this kickoff session, you’ll get to know the Land + Lenses program, meet the facilitators, and explore the park through a hands-on scavenger hunt. Using cameras or drawing materials, you’ll document native plants and identify misplaced objects while engaging in a community clean-up. You’ll also have the chance to turn collected trash into creative […]
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Ignite: The Art of Reinvention
Join Outside The Lens in celebrating how storytelling and design drive creative transformation.
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Outside The Lens presents Media Makers 2024 Winter Showcase
Join us for the Media Makers 2024 Winter Showcase presented by Outside The Lens!
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Open House 2024
Join us for our annual Outside The Lens Open House on August 29th and learn more about OTL!
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Voice Out 2024
In May 2024, Outside The Lens launched its inaugural Voice Out: A Youth Media Arts Exhibition, showcasing the incredible talents of young artists from across the region. This year’s theme “PLACE,” inspired 118 submissions, each one a unique representation of what place means to our young creatives.
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