Students from a metro school are getting the rare opportunity to showcase their photography skills at the CHK|Central Boathouse Gallery.
Taught by Chicano artist Narciso Arguelles, the Deer Creek High school students have produced the work using a photo studio set up by Arguelles at their school. The exhibition is called Camera Ready, and opens at CHK|Central Boathouse next month.
The display follows the closing reception of the boathouse exhibition Chroma: Artists of Color in Oklahoma, organized by the newly formed Oklahoma Latino Cultural Center, of which Arguelles is Executive Director.
The “Centro,” as the Oklahoma Latino Cultural Center is nicknamed, is the latest effort to promote Latino arts in the metro, and was officially launched in February with the Anita Martinez Mariachi Festival to mark the occasion. It has no brick-and-mortar base. However, the group does have a residency at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center.
Arguelles (pictured above with his students) said the Chroma exhibition, the first to come from Centro, inspired him to help his own students to understand what it means to be an artist, adding, “The goal is to give them a taste of what they can expect at college. I also try to give them an insight into what it’s like to be a professional photographer.”
The teacher and artist, who has lived in Oklahoma for over a decade, said that during his many travels and talking to his fellow art colleagues across the nation, he rarely sees a photo studio set up for high school students. Camera Ready will run at the Boathouse District location until June.
Next up for Centro is the Dia de los Muertos Art and Music Festival in November. More information can be found here.
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