Stephan Twist - founder

In 2013, I launched a pioneering visual literacy program for students in the Greater Washington, DC metro area. But long before I became an alternative process photographer and teaching artist, I was a kid gifted a camera. From that moment, my life transformed.

A new way of seeing the world, and of seeing myself, opened up. I discovered my voice through the lens of my camera. And with that discovery came the drive to make my mark and tell my story.

That’s the spark I needed, and although I didn’t know it then, my aunt did. She knew the power of the arts to unlock a child’s imagination. But it was the connection to the world through my lens that was even more powerful.

The power to capture and create images, to write, to engage—these are transformative skills. I’m on a mission to empower every kid like me with these same skills, and I know that art is the vehicle to do it.