November 20, 2008

The [Skid Row Photography Club](http://skidrowphotoclub.com/)'s first show, *The Beauty of the Street*, premiered last Thursday during the [Downtown Art Walk](http://downtownartwalk.com/). The participants were ecstatic to see their beautiful work on the walls and the hundreds of people who came into the gallery loved what they saw. The SRPC started as an idea I "borrowed" from the movie *Born Into Brothels*. I wrote a proposal to the [Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council](http://dlanc.com/) to buy digital cameras which we then gave to people living in Skid Row. I gave the participants brief lessons in composition and turned them loose. For the last six months we've met every Tuesday at [UCEPP](http://www.socialmodel.com/prevent_united.php) in Skid Row. During that time they shot over 20,000 photos between them. An amazing body of work ranging from flowers to architecture to a man defecating in the middle of the street. I pared the photos down to 11 selections for the show. Conor Colvin-Hunter designed a flyer, posters, banners and the website for free. My employer [AmericasPrinter.com](http://americasprinter.com/) donated the flyer printing. I then printed the 13"x19" photos with my Epson 3800 on Ultra-smooth Fine Art Matte paper and had them framed at the [Downtown Framing Outlet](http://www.downtownframing.com/). DLANC paid for the framing. [Stella Dottir](http://stelladottir.com/) hosted the show in her gallery at no charge and took no cut of the sales. The SRPC members helped me hang the work a few days before Art Walk at the gallery. The **show was a hit**, the turnout was amazing. Click here to [watch a video of the opening](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC4a1M_ZVr0) put together by the SRPC founder Michael Blaze. I estimate we had over 500 people come through the doors during the evening. The response to the work was wonderful and the artists were all so proud of their accomplishments. It was quite moving. Prints are available in a limited edition run of 5 each for $100 per print unframed and $290 framed. Half the proceeds goes to buy more cameras and the other half goes to the artist. I will update the website with the available photos along with more of the club member's work soon. I am looking forward to our next show and seeing more amazing work from these talented photographers. *If you are interested in participating in the club we meet every Tuesday at 3pm in the UCEPP room on the corner of 6th and Stanford. If you would like to donate digital cameras please email me: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])* [](https://eecue.com/p/30313/Skid-Row-Photo-Club.html) *Members of the Skid Row Photography Club stand together in front of their first show at Stella Dottir's gallery in Downtown Los Angeles. From left to right: Lawrence Landry, Lance, Sandra Y. Kornegay, Manuel "OG Man" Compito, Dave Bullock, Michael Blaze, Queen RA, Conor Colvin-Hunter, Don Garza and General Jeff.* [](https://eecue.com/p/30307/Sandra-Y--Kornegay.html) *Photographer Sandra Y. Kornegay stands proudly in front of her photo (upper left) which she shot on a cell phone.* [](https://eecue.com/p/30306/Councilwoman-Jan-Perry-and-OG.html) *Skid Row Photography Club member Manuel "OG Man" Compito interviews Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry at the Beauty of the Streets show during last week's Downtown Art Walk.* Click [here to see more photos from the Skid Row Photo Club show](http://eecue.com/images_archive/eecue-album-1541-1-Skid_Row_Photo_Club_Show.html).