To celebrate the completion of our after-school photography program, nearly 200 program participants, family members, and friends recently visited the Picturing Me Youth Exhibition in the Forum Gallery to see the work of these amazing young photographers firsthand. Attendees also visited Carnegie Music Hall to hear from J.G. Boccella, Picturing Me program manager; Lynn Zelevansky, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art; and Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer Martha Rial.

Martha shared some of her photography from her visits to Africa, but she added that you don’t have to travel far to create important photographs, encouraging the young artists to keep capturing the people, places, and events in their daily lives. To see more of Martha’s documentary, editorial, travel, and portrait photography, visit her website.

The Picturing Me Youth Exhibition closes this Sunday, April 1—come see the work up close!

Here are some more photos from the celebration, courtesy of Josh Franzos.

To  learn more about Picturing Me, visit CARNEGIE Magazine’s recent article, or visit the program website to see some of the photography and other visual work created by local students.

Special thanks to The Heinz Endowments and the Scaife Family Foundation Fund for Scholarships for their generous support of the Picturing Me program.