This fall and winter, 119 students from three schools participated in a hands-on workshop inspired by the exhibition Transgresoras: Mail Art and Messages, 1960s–2020s at the California Museum of Photography. Through conversations in the exhibition and a hands-on workshop with artist and educator Steffanie A. Padilla, students explored how art can exist and be shared beyond traditional institutions like museums, and how artists use creativity to navigate political, social, or geographical constraints. 

Before visiting the exhibition, students participated in a pre-visit lesson in which classmates exchanged postcards that contained poetry and drawings, reflecting on how Mail Art can be used to communicate stories and express personal and collective experiences.

In the workshop, students created collage self-portraits inspired by the work of artist Giana De Dier, which are on view in this gallery. Students reflected on what was important to them as they experimented with tactile techniques and various materials in their collage including photo transfer, incorporating images from the California Museum of Photography collection, as well as traditional materials like watercolor and ink pen. Students enjoyed creating and exchanging physical artworks, sometimes viewed as a rare opportunity in an increasingly digital world. For their final submissions, many students submitted scans of their collages while others chose to create digital works inspired by the artworks in Transgresoras.

Reception
Sunday, May 3, 1-4pm
Free and open to the public