Photos and story
Marc Clancy
The State of Art Project, founded in 2006 by Mark Ukleja (pictured), has become a work of art itself over the years. Traversing the ups and downs before teetering on the brink of uncertainty as they quietly found their niche. This is TSOAP’s life story and they couldn’t be more stoked. As public funding for the arts dwindles TSOAP has decided to pick up the slack, at least when it comes to teaching our youth about photography. Through TSOAP’s six week course the kids are guided through the entire image making process and the results couldn’t be more impressive, case and point their on-going exhibition “Listen and You’ll See” at Shillelagh in Long Beach, CA. With over 30 works up for sale (proceeds help keep the course free), the majority of which have already been marked as sold, it is obvious they’re doing something right.
While Mark credits the students willingness to learn, stellar volunteer instructors plucked straight from the industry, and curriculum that rivals that of an intro-to-photograhy course at a four year university. But Mark also warns, “don’t let this be about me or the course, it’s all about the kids.” and rightfully so. In todays visual environment, which revolves almost exclusively around the image, understanding how and why an image is made couldn’t be more important. The students of TSOAP understand that and are eager to challenge the status quo through their own visual language. So cheers to you, students of TSOAP, we’re glad to hear you talking back.
