DALLAS, TX – March 26, 2010  – Eight participants from Youth First Texas learned digital photography skills through the Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC) last fall in a project designed to give the students a voice in their community.  An exhibit of their work will be shown at the Cathedral of Hope April 9– May 2, 2010.  The exhibition is part of the congregation’s Art for Peace and Justice which is a program of Hope for Peace & Justice (www.h4pj.org). An artist reception will be held Friday, April 9, from 6:00 – 8:00pm.

Representing the first time the project has focused on gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender youth, unseenamerica originated in New York, under the Bread and Roses, the cultural arm of the largest labor union in the country.  This 8-week curriculum based community-based art project, taught by a professional photographer helped the 17- to 22-year-olds gain a stronger sense of self and community.  The youth artists are:  Jimmy Bounthavy, Zak Duffer, Rena Hampton, Chelsea Mauzy, Jesus Montelongo, David Negrete, Steven Richmond and Charlie Scarborough.

“We are excited to be able to provide this outreach opportunity,” said Diana Pollak, CAC’s Executive Director.  “Through the lens of donated cameras, these youth give us an inspiring collection of photographs which serve as testimonials to their unseen lives.”  The project is a collaboration with CAC and Youth First Texas, the only North Texas nonprofit solely dedicated to recreational, social, leadership and psychological needs of GLBT youth.

“We could not be more thrilled to be presenting the work of these amazing young artists.  The Cathedral of Hope is the world’s largest predominantly GLBT congregation, so it is a perfect collaboration,” said Dr. Tim Seelig, Director of Art for Peace & Justice.  “It is our hope that countless people will view the exhibit and thereby discover new insights into the lives of these wonderful artists.”

CAC is a non-profit community arts organization and school of visual arts geared to working artists and adult students of all skill levels.  Classes and workshops are offered in Jewelry, Fused Glass, Mosaic, Painting, Stone Carving, Metal Sculpture, Photography, Printmaking, Drawing, Ceramics and Clay Sculpture.

According to Ms. Pollak, CAC has become one of the top adult art education destinations within the North Texas area.  “Our mission is to provide a nurturing environment for people to discover, develop and express their artistic vision. CAC is not only a dynamic arts organization, it is also a thriving arts community which provides outreach to children and teens in the Dallas area” said Ms. Pollak.

The Creative Arts Center of Dallas was founded as a public arts center in 1965 and is now located on a two-acre campus off of Ferguson Road in White Rock Hills, four miles east of downtown Dallas.  Last year, more than 1,500 students took more than 350 classes and workshops at CAC.