DRAWING CENTER STUDIO

ENVISION PROJECT 9
A SPECIAL FREE COURSE FOR HIGH SCHOOL TEENS!

Instructed by Isaiah Armstrong

Support Instructors: Michael Wilson & Adam Mysock

Lab Technicians: Manifest Drawing Center’s Darkroom Moderators

Application Deadline: Friday, January 10, 2025
Find link to application below.

Tentative Schedule

January 22 – May 10, 2025

Wednesdays (General Class Meetings): 4-6pm

Saturday (Photography Labs): 10am-12pm; 12-2pm*

*Early in the program, students will be divided into small groups, each having a Lab scheduled for two hours each Saturday.

Work alongside professional photographers as you visually document the issues that affect your life!

Manifest Drawing Center is proud to announce the 9th annual Envision Project, supported in part by the Joseph A Stoner Memorial Fund and the Manifest Annual Fund. This unique program seeks applications from high school students interested in learning traditional film photography, developing critical thinking and visual literacy skills, and making a significant impact through visual storytelling.

photos: Anushka Mukherjee, Grade 9 William Mason High School (Envision 1) and Rafaela Schomburgk, Grade 12 Roger Bacon High School (Envision 4)

We are looking for 14 high school students to participate in this free 16-week, black-and-white photography program at Manifest Drawing Center’s Community Darkroom in Clifton. Students will learn the fundamentals of analog film photography while exploring how the photograph can expose and frame the world around them. The Envision Project will culminate with a showcase exhibition of students’ photographs at the Drawing Center in the summer of 2025.

Project Dates: January 22 – May 10, 2025
Wednesdays 4-6pm plus one 2-Hour Darkroom Lab Session each week (assigned based on each student’s availability early in the program)

Tuition: FREE
Admission is competitive. Applications must be filled out online and require a letter of recommendation from one academic reference to be considered. Participants will be awarded spots based on application review.

Level of Study: No prior film-based photographic experience is required. All materials will be provided, but students are welcome to use their own film camera.




—[ APPLY HERE ]—


The above link will open a fillable PDF that can be downloaded, filled, saved, and then emailed to us.

Application Deadline: Friday, January 10, 2025

Notification of Acceptance: January 17, 2025

Questions? Email Adam Mysock at mysock@manifestdrawingcenter.org

photo: Ryleigh Sanborn, Grade 11 Walnut Hills High School (from Envision Project 4)

LOCATION: Unless otherwise specified, all courses are hosted at Manifest's new facility at 'M1' in Clifton at 3464 Central Parkway (see map and directions below). Manifest's new facility provides multiple studio classrooms, private lesson space, a darkroom, a film processing room, and a multi-purpose lecture and class meeting space as well as on-site parking, grounds, and exterior spaces in which to relax, discuss, and make art. The studios are outfitted with professional equipment, furniture, and study aids.

Map to Manifest's M1 Studios   |   Studio Calendar   |   Darkroom Calendar

photo: Maggie Harkins (from Envision Project 6)

photo: Jessica Lasita (from Envision Project 6)

About the instructors:

Isaiah Armstrong, is a 26-year-old Cincinnati native who started teaching himself photography after being gifted a camera by his grandfather. Although he’s studied at Cincinnati State and the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the most significant forces motivating Isaiah’s work are seeing photos made by other young photographers like Kentucky’s Jon Cherry (and his work around the reactions to the Brenna Taylor verdict) and revisiting his father's photography. These influences opened his eyes to photography’s potential to convey interpersonal intimacy while also touching on the complexities of the human experience in a broader sense.

Before Isaiah focused investigation of analog photography, he worked in the non-profit sector, with organizations like Public Allies, remodeling homes, and even pursuing basketball as a career.

Isaiah has a background working with diverse populations, including those experiencing mental health challenges. His life experiences make him an exciting addition to the Manifest Drawing Center's instructional staff, leading our Photography Essentials series of classes.

Michael Wilson is a life-long resident of Cincinnati residing in Price Hill. He developed his interest in photography while attending Northern Kentucky University where he earned a bachelor of fine arts in 1981. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions at such local venues as Baker Hunt Foundation (Covington, Ky.); Thomas More Gallery, Thomas More College (Crestview Hills, Ky.); In Situ Gallery (Cincinnati, Ohio); Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center (Covington, Ky.); as well as the Cincinnati Art Museum and Contemporary Arts Center. Wilson's photographs have been exhibited regionally at the J. B. Speed Museum (Louisville, Ky.); Rosewood Arts Centre (Kettering, Ohio); and Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art (Cleveland, Ohio). His work is represented in the Cincinnati corporate collections of E. W. Scripps; PNC Bank; Frost & Jacobs; Deloitte & Touche; and Duke Energy. He is also represented in the collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum and the J. B. Speed Museum. In addition, his images have been featured in more than three hundred photographic projects working with musicians and record labels.

Among the many artists Michael has photographed are: Lyle Lovett, B. B. King, Waylon Jennings, Randy Newman, Emmylou Harris, Bill Frisell, David Byrne, Philip Glass, Dawn Upshaw, and Doc Watson. Clients include: Nonesuch Records, Warner Brothers Records, Sony Music, Capitol Records, Alfred A. Knopf, Penguin Putnam, Mother Jones Magazine, Health Magazine, Uncut Magazine, and Pentagram Design.

Michael also moderates Manifest Drawing Center’s Open Photography Lab on Sunday nights and is the Joseph A. Stoner Resident Instructor of Photography at Manifset.