LensBright Initiative

Transcript

1. Philadelphia-based arts education non profit Empowering students to see a brighter future, one lens at a time. LensBright Initiative 2025-26
2. The LensBright Initiative is an award-winning, Philadelphia-based arts education nonprofit supported by the University of Pennsylvania’s President’s Engagement Prize, dedicated to building bridges between under resourced high school students and lens-based creative industries and educational institutions. What is LensBright Initiative? The LensBright Initiative empowers young artists to see and shape their world through the lens by providing equipment, mentorship, educational resources, and creative opportunities in film and photography. Through this support, students develop technical skills, build self-agency, and explore their creative potential. Our Mission The LensBright Initiative envisions a world where every young person sees their potential with clarity and confidence—where a brightened lens leads to brighter futures, deeper self-understanding, and lasting creative and social impact. Our Vision
3. The LensBright Initiative was co-founded by Ejun Mary Hong and Jack Nicholas Roney, who met while mentoring West Philadelphia high school students through the Participatory Action Art Mentorship Program (PAAM). They quickly recognized the students’ strong passion for lens-based art—and the limited resources available to support the stories those students can tell. Founders’ Story Jack (left) is a multidisciplinary artist and award-winning photographer from Jonesborough, Tennessee. As a QuestBridge scholar at Penn, he experienced firsthand how vital resources can transform opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds. He has led community arts programs and served as Assistant Program Coordinator at a 501(c) nonprofit. Drawing on his expertise and experience as a photographer, he is dedicated to helping students from similar backgrounds succeed in the lens- based arts industry. Through the LensBright Initiative, they aim to empower youth to see and shape their world through lens-based art—just as they once found light, hope, and refuge through the lens themselves. Ejun (right) a filmmaker from Canada and South Korea, faced the darkness of blurred vision as a child but found light in films— hoping to one day bring lost stories into the light through her lens. Her animated films give voice to deeply personal, social, and universal experiences often left unheard. Honored with 15 awards and 40+ festival selections, including Oscar-qualifying festivals, she has worked with Sony Pictures, the Walt Disney Family Museum, and All Ages Productions. For Ejun, filmmaking is a powerful form of care that heals, connects, and illuminates.
4. to With the support and guidance from the Netter Center at Penn, Sayre High School, and wonderful art mentors team, our team founded the Participatory Art Mentorship Program, a weekly after school program at Sayre High School that offers under- resourced high school students the opportunity to explore, learn, and create artwork in the realm of animation, architecture, and design. A group of art students (mentors) from the University of Pennsylvania visit Sayre High School twice a week to mentor and create art with the high school students (mentees). Organized 70+ mentorship sessions and workshops, five exhibitions, four meetings with industry professionals, and four art sales.
5. Public Art & Exhibition Commissioned Projects Career Development Offering local, national, and international public art installation and exhibition opportunities to support students’ growth as lens-based artists. Providing real-world commissioned projects from industry, community, and educational partners, mentored by university students, to offer hands-on experience and foster professional skill development. Programming Plan 2025-26 Connecting students with network of professionals and tailored internship and shadowing opportunities in industry, community, and educational settings to facilitate their tangible next steps within the industry and beyond. Expected Outcomes for 2025-26: Completion of three public art and exhibition projects at local, national, and international levels. Confirmed: Philadelphia, San Francisco, Paris Expected Outcomes for 2025-26: Competition of five commissioned projects in photography, film, and animation. Expected Outcomes for 2025-26: Completion of one to two internship and/or shadowing opportunities. (1) Industry/Studio Maestro Filmworks Bowstring Production All Ages Productions Philadelphia Animation Film Festival Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Sony Pictures Entertainment FFCP (Paris) Le Figargo (Paris) (2) Community Organization Youth Skills Building Program Walt Disney Family Museum PhAM - Philadelphia Art Museum Penn Athlete Media Team Public Trust - Listening Lab TILT PhlAir NGO (3) Educational Institution Sayre High School UACS School University of Pennsylvania (Netter Center, PADS Studio, President’s Office, PARLab, RealArts@Penn, SACHS Program) Temple University (Animation BFA Department) Moore College (Photography and Film Department) Drexel University (Dr. Edouard’s Film Lab) List of partner organizations we are planning on partnering for projects and opportunities: LensBright Initiative 2025-26 Program Outline 1 2 3 Previous work: PAAM’s previous work includes hosting five exhibitions and four sales over the past three years. Previous work: Created Footprints in the Sand (2025), an animated documentary film made with six students from Sayre High School, sharing the stories of four lymphoma patients. Previous work: Hosted 70+ mentorship and workshop sessions and organized five meetings with industry professionals from Sony, Pixar, LAIKA, DreamWorks, and ASIFA-Hollywood.
6. Progress & Plans
7. Progress & Plans
8. Progress & Plans This year, the initiative is partnering with Sayre High School, our first LensBright School to: (1) Launch LensBright Studio: LensBright will be installing 15 stop-motion animation stations at a classroom at Sayre High School, which students will use to create their stop-motion animation projects, either real-world commissioned projects or their personal projects. We will be partnering with Joshua Mosley, Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, Weitzman School of Design, and PAR Lab Co-Director, to install and setup the stations he designed and built.
9. Progress & Plans Using the LensBright Studio stop-motion animation stations, we will: (1) Connect high school students with university mentors to create commissioned stop-motion animation projects for real clients from studios, museums, universities, and community organizations. (2) Create a documentary film rooted in the theme “Bringing Our Dreams to Life” that follow students as they bring their personal stories and characters to life through animation and projection art, transforming city walls and streets in Philadelphia and around the world into living canvases. Mentors and advisors from across the animation industry and educational institutions are joining us, helping students refine their work and share it around the world, sometimes even projecting their animations in the mentors’ own hometowns and studios. Each projection becomes a bridge: between students and mentors, between art and community, between who we are and who we dream to become. The project will be led by a team of university art students from Penn, Drexel, and Temple, and high school students during after- school programs. The production will be mentored by professors and industry professionals from Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Australia, San Francisco, South Korea, Slovakia, Italy, and more.
10. Previous Work Previous work includes Footprints in the Sand (2025), a mixed-media (stop-motion puppet and 2D computer animation) animated film) created by a team of Penn students, six Sayre High School students, an orchestra, and university faculty. The film invites four lymphoma cancer patients from South Korea to share their stories. Our Sayre High School students participated in the film production as visual development artists.
11. Thank you!