Past Events
Teen Media Arts Studio 10/01
Develop photography skills, create compelling graphics, and bring your stories to life through animation and illustration! You’ll gain hands-on experience with industry standard equipment, software, and mentorship with professional artists.
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Open House 2025
Come explore the creative world of Outside the Lens on August 28th! We're opening our doors to share how San Diego youth are using media arts to express themselves and change their communities. Join us for an evening of hands-on activities where you can create your own art alongside our young artists.
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Puente: Student Film Showcase
Join us for a powerful evening celebrating student voices, stories, and creativity! Students from the Puente Project at San Diego City College have spent the past 12 weeks working with Outside The Lens (OTL) to transform their poetry and lived experiences into original short films. Along the way, they’ve explored visual thinking, studied film techniques, […]
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Land+Lenses: Final Exhibition!
📅 Saturday, May 31, 2025🕐 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM📍 The Front Arte y CulturaFree event | All ages welcome | Food provided Join us for the culminating exhibition of Land + Lenses, a community arts program that invited youth and families to explore the rich landscapes of Otay Valley Regional Park and YMCA Camp […]
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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: 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: 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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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: 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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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: 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: 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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