Las Fotos Project
Community Residencies
About Community Residencies at The Ford
Community Residencies at The Ford exemplify the Association's dedication to the communities and youth of Los Angeles. Through collaborative efforts with local youth-oriented organizations, Community Residencies aims to enable these organizations to broaden the array of opportunities available for youth-centered career development in the arts.
Since 2021, The Ford has extended invitations to photographers of the Las Fotos Project’s Creative Entrepreneurship Opportunities (CEO) program. As The Ford enters its third year of collaboration with the Las Fotos Project CEO program, The Ford welcomes the 2023 cohort of LFP photographers.
About The Las Fotos Project
Las Fotos Project’s Creative Entrepreneurship Opportunities, or CEO, is the social enterprise and apprenticeship program which provides teenage girls and gender expansive youth with valuable entrepreneurial skills for future careers in the creative industry. The CEO program empowers these photographers to expand their portfolios through practical experiences that contribute to the growth of their professional skills. Their program model provides opportunities for those who are both systemically and socially silenced to make themselves heard and, in the process, advocate for social change and create their own pathways to successful, creative futures.
Meet the Photographers
Congratulations to the 2023 Community Residencies Cohort from Las Fotos Project CEO
Maryjane “MJ” Joya
MaryJane “MJ” Joya’s specialty is funky portraiture and candid street photography. They wish to continue to learn and practice fashion photography, and photojournalism. This past semester at Las Fotos, Maryjane focused mainly on portraits with a still-life mood; photos that capture a moment in-between. They wish to work with The New York Times in the future and their dream job is to photograph fashion / editorial work.
Xitlali Martinez
Xitlali Martinez is a photographer based in Los Angeles. She has been a committed LFP student for six years. She is currently a student at Rio Hondo College, with plans to transfer to Cal State Fullerton next fall. Her love for photography began seven years ago when she was first introduced to it by her uncle. Her uncle would always capture every important moment in her and her family's lives, which made her want to do the same for other people as well. Moments don’t last forever but photos do.
Uzuri Ray
Uzuri Ray is a Mexican American teen based in Boyle Heights and her biggest inspiration is her mother’s passion for photography. She’s always found photography interesting but never had a chance to fully experiment with a camera until she joined the Las Fotos Project. She loves having the opportunity to capture special moments. They find it fascinating how pictures can tell stories, so they try to take photos that have some kind of connection to them. She focuses on portraiture and capturing her subject’s true personalities.
Catherine Rodriguez
Catherine Rodriguez has been fond of practicing different art forms since they were 11, whether it was in the form of painting, photography, or music. They spent most of their time after school engaging in activities involved with the arts and took a keen interest in photography in the seventh grade. Since then, they grab a hold of any camera every time they go out. “I put time into it because it brings me great joy! I’m excited about my journey with art through the Las Fotos Project.” Now, she is going to UCLA to study design and media arts.
Sawyer Sariñana
Sawyer Sariñana has expanded on weaving client visions with creative experience to create unique deliverables for each project. In working with class mentors and other students they have initiated new pathways of creative discovery and are excited to continue collaborating. They are continuously inspired by the creative process of other artists and would love to expand on a long-term mixed media project that merges visual, performing art, and writing in documenting the visual cultures of Los Angeles.
Las Fotos Project x The Ford Virtual Gallery
This virtual gallery encapsulates the selected work of the 2023 LFP CEO Cohort at The Ford.
Program Components
Pre-Season Preparation
The Ford welcomes five LFP CEO photographers and their LFP mentors to capture 10 different shows every season after cohort applicants undergo a selection process in review by LA Phil concert photographer(s) and members of The Ford team.
The Ford provided two professional development sessions to the LFP CEO Cohort to foster the necessary skills to excel in their show captures (for which they are paid) and to build their portfolios and their professional network.
The sessions took the form of workshops conducted by LA Phil professionals, offering hands-on training:
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One professional development session, hosted at the LFP site and open to all LFP students and community members, consisted of an in-depth presentation on the camera settings and equipment needed to excel in concert photography, followed by an in-house performance to give photographers the chance to implement their newly learned skills.
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The second session was hosted at The Ford for the LFP CEO cohort and their mentors to learn about concert photography and asset delivery specific to the venue. We invited Farah Sosa, LA Phil House Photographer, and LA Phil staff from Media Initiatives and the CLARK management system to explain venue-specific protocols necessary for the cohort to have a successful experience at The Ford.
Work During the Season
Each photographer from the LFP CEO Cohort gets the chance to capture two shows, with guidance and assistance from an LFP mentor during their show capture.
The LFP CEO Cohort receives guided support from The Ford and an LFP mentor to help the photographers deliver their images within 24 hours of a show capture, which aligns with industry-standard asset-delivery expectations.
Cohort photographers are encouraged to use any approved images in their portfolios and social-media pages to display their photographic skills and potentially widen their opportunities.
Post-Season Work
To commemorate the work of the LFP CEO Cohort, The Ford inaugurated a Las Fotos Project x The Ford Gallery wall. The gallery highlights 10 images, one image for each show and two per cohort photographer.
Once The Ford season ends, the LFP x the Ford Gallery updates to display selected images by the new cohort. (Unfortunately, the physical gallery is not open to the public, but please enjoy the selected images available for viewing via the virtual gallery.)
Past Cohorts
2022 Cohort
Wendy Cubillo, @eonagapi
CJ Calica, @audienceink
Ruth Gutierrez, @pigeon.fotos
Ketzally Alcala, @K3yzally
Mia Peña, @miapenaphotography