All kinds of great things happen in the AS220 Darkroom that all kinds of people have no idea about. Working in a darkroom is a solitary process and even AS220 Darkroom members who use the space are unaware of what happens when they are not there. This is the first of many monthly updates that is meant to change that. What better way to start than to talk about a young person going to college.

Kia Davis came to the AS220 Darkroom's youth program Photographic Memory about a year and half ago during the summer of her Junior year. From the start her excitement for photography and her dedication to Photographic Memory showed in the exciting body of work she created. She quickly learned to use a manual 35mm film camera, black and white film development and photo enlarging in our wet darkroom. This work, along with the work of other Photographic Memory students, was shown twice at the RISD Museum in their "Focus on Young Photographers" series in 2006 & 2007. Kia's work is also part of a Photographic Memory exhibit currently hanging in the offices of WRNI, Rhode Island's National Public Radio affiliate.

Kia has also been one of Photographic Memory's assistants. These dedicated students learn to assist professional photographer and PhotoMem Instructor Scott Lapham on commercial jobs. Kia has carried gear and set up lights at several locations helping Scott photograph high end interior architecture. She has also photographed along side Scott using a professional SLR camera at many events.

Kia's most recent self sought challenge has been taking on the role of youth gallery coordinator of AS220. Kia is known to work with youth and adults alike, recruiting artwork work from young artists and trouble shooting problems creatively by using her own talents and collaborating with others.

On November 4th, 2007 students and teachers from Photographic Memory and Broad St Studios' Visuals program attended Portfolio day at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Portfolio day is the largest art college fair in New England showcasing dozens of art school's from across the country. All of our students had engaging critiques showing the portfolios created in our programs. Kia especially liked her encounter with Carnegie Mellon University and put it at the top of her college wish list. Several weeks later she found out that Carnegie Mellon considered her critique at Portfolio Day an interview and that they wanted her to officially apply to become part of their student body. While there is still much paper work to fill out and other colleges to hear back from we are all excited by Kia's higher education opportunities for next fall.

To see more of Kia's work, and to see a sample of the portfolios of other Photographic Memory students please visit AS220.org/photographicmemory.