About the program

This fall, the Altadena Library District, with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is looking to collaborate with YOU, young adults of Altadena, to create a multimedia documentary project that shares your answers to the question:

“What does it feel like to be a teen navigating the geography of the San Gabriel Valley and beyond?”

As individuals, we all have unique emotional connections to specific places that shaped our lives, for better or worse. Think about where you met your best friend, the classroom of that teacher you didn’t like, or the park where you attended a rally or protest. As we form communities through location, age, gender, ethnicity, and more, our experiences of shared spaces overlap – sometimes in harmony and sometimes in conflict. Think about the places you know or love or hate – how might someone else’s connection to a particular place differ? Could their ideas change your impression of it? Could your ideas change their impressions?

Shared Landscapes: Mapping Teen Altadena is an invitation for you to safely share your personal geography with the world so that we might better understand how you see our community. Landscapes change over time, but through this project we hope to capture what it feels like to be young and alive in Altadena today.

Who can participate?

Teens 13 to 19 years old are invited to submit documentation of places with personal significance in the form of:

• photos
• videos
• art
• written stories
• sound recordings

The Process

Library staff will review all submissions to confirm they meet all guidelines. The Teen Leadership Council (learn how to join HERE), under supervision from the Teen Librarian, will then select which entries will be published.

With the help of the Teen Leadership Council, these selected submissions will be organized into a digital story map and in-person exhibition at the library. A story map plots locations and displays stories and information about those locations. We’ll share this map with the public and invite them to the exhibition, so they can explore their surrounding geography through new perspectives.

How to participate

Visit www.sharedlandscapes.org for all the ways you can participate. You can also submit your submissions through the button below. Please review the guidelines on this page prior to submission. Then get out your camera, phone, sketchpad, laptop or whatever you have and start documenting! Thanks to our funding through California Humanities, we have technology available for checkout to help you create your submission. Our “Digital Documentarian Kits” include a digital camera, a wireless shooting grip and tripod, and a high-quality external microphone.

Place a hold on one through the online catalog here!

Then submit photos, videos, art, written stories, or sound recordings that document places of personal significance. If you have digital files, please click the button below to fill out the form and upload your files.

If you would like to submit handwritten or hand-drawn piece, you can deliver your materials to the library, along with a completed copy of this form.

What’s in it for you?

In addition to possible publication, you will receive 30 minutes of volunteer service hours and one entry into a raffle contest where you are eligible to win a Polaroid Now Instant Film Camera and accompanying film for every entry you submit. 

Even if your submission isn’t selected for publication, you will still be eligible for service hours and the raffle.

Deadline to submit

All materials must be submitted either electronically or in-person no later than 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Any materials submitted after this time will not be considered for publication.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please email the Teen Librarian at teens@altadenalibrary.org.