Creating Exposure Through The Arts, or CEA, is the nonprofit behind the docuseries “Behind the Ink.”
Its founder and executive director Mark Pendergrass joined us alongside Kevin Mitchell, the owner of surface media group and an instructor with CEA.
by Page Leggett on April 27, 2021
Joseph Johnson came to nonprofit Creating Exposure Through the Arts (CEA) as a 15-year-old. At 27, he’s still involved. And he was the impetus for Behind The Ink, one of the nonprofit’s most enduring programs.
Johnson’s mother died when he was just two years old. He was raised by his sister. In memory of his mom, he had gotten a rose tattoo. One of his CEA classmates noticed it and started taunting him.
“He was telling me how a man shouldn’t have a female-type tattoo such as a rose, and it went from there,” Johnson recalled. “I was trying to tell him it was a symbolic type thing.”
Mark Pendergrass, CEA founder and executive director, was leading class that day. “We all made it a teachable moment,” he said. This was an opportunity to put CEA’s mission — to educate and mentor youth by providing opportunities of exposure to artistic expression — into action.
MARK PENDERGRASS OF CEA
“I said, ‘Look, that’d be a great story to tell [through photography],’ so we started doing these workshops. We might be at the YMCA for a class, walk into the hallway and see somebody coming out of the gym with a tattoo and say, ‘Hey, can we talk to you?’ And we started taking pictures of people’s tattoos and asking them to tell the stories behind them.”
Johnson’s rose tattoo was the first, or among the first, to be photographed. Now Behind The Ink has become a program, a coffee table book, a documentary film. It’s a whole movement.
Johnson has gone on to get more ink – he has 14 tattoos total – and has become a professional photographer. When his schedule allows, he serves as a mentor at CEA, a nonprofit designed to mentor and empower youth by exposing them to the arts.
“People’s stories about their tattoos are just as unique and powerful as mine,” Johnson said. “You can’t judge a book by its cover. A lot of people have tattoos who you wouldn’t think would have them. You can’t assume that if someone has tattoos, they’re violent or gang-affiliated.”
Behind The Ink, in all its forms, reveals the stories behind the men and women of all ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds who have used part of their body as a canvas.
CRYSTANA DUTCHESS LATTIMORE & RICKY LATTIMORE – IMAGE BY KEVIN MITCHELL
“It’s amazing that something we’ve been doing for 10 years as a curriculum – taking pictures, learning photography, interviewing people – has become a living documentary,” Pendergrass said.
The people in the book and film are “a diverse group,” he said. “We are sharing stories of people who don’t look like each other but have that one thing in common.”
Like Johnson, Kevin “Surf” Mitchell got involved with CEA as a teenager. The program alumnus is now a lead instructor, and he was responsible for the final editing of images for the coffee table book and the exhibition last year at The Light Factory.
Like Johnson, he, too, is a full-time professional photographer – with clients in the entertainment industry all over the country. He credits CEA with starting him on that path. “The program allowed me to see photography in a different way,” he said. “It brought it to the forefront and inspired me to go further with it.”
Mitchell shot some images of tattoos when he was a teenager at CEA. “When I came back as an instructor, I decided to help out and remastered some old images.”
He’s shot new tattoos, as well. And he has been present when subjects shared their stories. Some people overcame depression. Others had considered suicide or survived a suicide attempt – and triumphed over their thoughts. Their ink symbolizes those life experiences. They are memorials. Tattoos can be an outward and visible sign that someone has confronted their innermost demons.
NFL VETERAN AND FORMER CAROLINA PANTHER THOMAS DAVIS BY TROY MONTGOMERY
There may be some people who have too much to drink one night and wake up with “Mom” inked across a bicep, but that’s really more of a myth, CEA instructors say. Most people consider body art for a long time before committing.
Behind the Ink is just one of the programs CEA offers middle- and high-school students. A couple of years ago, the organization began offering a class called “It’s Not Just Selfies … It’s Photography and More.”
STUDENT KENDALL WEDDINGTON SHOOTING ERIKA COUSART – IMAGE BY ESSYNCE MINTER
“Everybody’s always turning that camera around for a selfie,” Pendergrass said. “We encourage kids to learn more about this medium they were using all the time. We began to introduce them to aspects of photography and writing that they weren’t experiencing in school. This enabled us to really introduce them to filmmaking, to how to interview people, how to develop content.”
Pendergrass started the organization with an emphasis on photography, but it has evolved over time to include other art forms.
“We’ve tapped into teaching journalism,” he said. “There’s a writing component now. And we recently got into videography and filmmaking.”
CEA partners with organizations such as ASC, churches, libraries and Parks and Rec to offer programming where it’s needed most – in low-income areas populated by mostly people of color. All their programs are offered at no cost to participants.
SHANNON WOOTEN – IMAGE BY JAZLYN JORDAN
The group often brings in special guests to address students. On Saturday May 1, Councilman Braxton Winston will speak, via Zoom, to CEA students about his life, career and experience as a consultant on the Oprah Winfrey OWN network filmed-in-Charlotte drama, Delilah.
A tattoo transforms the person who commits to it. It’s forever part of them and their story.
Similarly, CEA transforms lives. I asked Johnson, whose rose tattoo gave birth to Behind The Ink, if he could imagine a life that hadn’t included CEA. “It probably would have been a more troublesome path,” he said. “I was getting in trouble when I was a younger person and needed to get back on a straight path.”
And I asked if thought art had the power to transform a life.
“Yes, it actually does,” he said. “It gives you a way of expressing yourself without having to physically be stressed about everything. Everybody has something going on in their life – troubles and worries – and they just need an outlet to express it. A picture is worth 1,000 words.”
Catch the Behind The Ink documentary for free at CEA’s Free Virtual Screening Release on Thursday, April 29 at 7 p.m. The movie will auto-start at 7 p.m. sharp. Watch on demand this weekend from Thursday, April 29 at 11 p.m. through Sunday, May 2 at 11 p.m.
To view the film, use this Bingewave.com link to sign in and claim a free ticket prior to the screening. Next week, CEA will host an “After The Screening” Zoom talk with students, staff and participants from the documentary. Those who claimed a ticket will get an invitation to the Zoom chat.
The coffee table book – along with other merch – is available on the website. Proceeds from the sale of these products go toward future programming and projects. Visit http://www.creatingexposure.com/new-products to make a purchase.
Creating Exposure Through the Arts
Behind The Ink
Local Nonprofit Exposes Students to Filmmaking Process
April 12, 2021
By Sarafina Wright
Charlotte, NC -- BEHIND THE INK is a first-of-its-kind film put together by local Charlotte, NC students and creatives with the mission of exploring untold narratives of those who are inked. This documentary was produced and shot entirely by Creating Exposure Through The Arts [a 501c3 non-profit organization] students and instructors.
Born out of a student-led photo exhibit launched over a decade ago...BEHIND THE INK emerged. This documentary explores tattoos, and what some may call “artistry and body art.” It covers the “whys” of personal canvases straight from the source, while also capturing the journey of a young lady who receives her first tattoo.
There are men and women of all ages, different races, and socioeconomic backgrounds that reveal stories, ideas, joy, and pain behind their ink. From a suicide survivor, former professional athlete, to a tattoo “first-timer,” BEHIND THE INK gets up close and personal with individuals whose body art ranges from playful motifs to deep memorials for lost loved ones — all with a distinct purpose and meaning.
“The impact of having students work on a documentary and have their work showcased in galleries before, during and after the documentary is completed…is an extreme accomplishment,” said Mark Pendergrass, CEA founder and executive director of BEHIND THE INK. “There are artists who’ve been in their fields for years that have never been involved in filmmaking, a documentary or have had their work showcased in a gallery. So I think it's impactful for the students and the instructors and also the participants who probably didn’t think when they got a tattoo it would be showcased in a documentary.”
Pendergrass continued: “It’s amazing to realize that something we’ve been doing for ten years just as a curriculum, taking pictures, learning photography, interviewing people has become a living documentary that will last beyond this spring release. Anybody involved can put this on their resume and say look what I’ve done — the documentary and the book.”
Accompanying the release of the docuseries will be the BEHIND THE INK Coffee Table Book. Subjects from the documentary and other notable faces like Dutchess Lattimore, tattoo artist and owner of Pretty-N-Ink will be featured on the pages of the edition with up-close, detailed photos of their canvases. The book, also shot and conceptualized entirely by CEA instructors and students, contains dozens of photos of diverse subjects, along with expressive descriptions of their body art in their own words.
“In a time where art is not really showcased in schools…I think it's important to show another aspect of it…something that’s really personable like sharing people’s stories,” added Pendergrass. “It’s a diverse group: ethnicity, race, age. We are sharing stories of people who don’t look like each other but have that one thing in common.”
The BEHIND THE INK docuseries and coffee table book will debut this spring virtually and can be seen at local film festivals and activations [TBA]. There will also be an opportunity to purchase BEHIND THE INK merchandise where proceeds will go to CEA to build on almost 20 years of teaching students photography, mentorship and empowerment through the arts.
Stay updated with the release of the film and the book here: www.creatingexposure.com and the students are currently creating two new sites … www.behindtheinkdocumentary.com www.behindtheinkdoc.com.
And follow what CEA students are up to here on Instagram: @creatingexposure, @behindtheinkdocumentary | Twitter: @ceacharlotte
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sarafina Wright
Mark Pendergrass - CEA
By Ashley Mahoney (The Charlotte Post)
“Behind The Ink” is heading to the gallery space.
The Creating Exposure through the Arts docuseries is set to launch by the end of the year, however, expansion of the non-profit’s mission to empower youth through creative expression with an emphasis on photography heads to The Light Factory (1817 Central Ave) Sept. 25-Oct 9. The show’s run will also include socially distanced in-person silent auction on Sept 26 from 1-4pm. featuring roughly 40 images. Masks will be required. During the run up, students have been preparing and printing their photographs at The Light Factory, working with Executive Director Kay Tuttle.
Published Sunday, August 30, 2020 7:00 pm
by Ashley Mahoney | The Charlotte Post
Image by: Kevin Bethea
Creating Exposure is taking their “Inked” series to another level.
“Behind the Ink” is a docuseries set to launch by the end of 2020. It expands on the non-profit’s mission to empower youth through creative expression, particularly photography. Mark Pendergrass founded Creating Exposure a decade ago, and several former students have gone on to become instructors in the program.
“Inked” was born when a student Joseph Johnson’s tattoo of a rose on his arm resulted in another student mocking him. Everyone in the class would learn that his mother’s name, Rhodeann “Ann” Johnson” sits beneath the rose. She died from heart disease when Joseph was two years old. That conversation led to the creation of “Inked,” which combines photography with the responsibility of eliminating assumptions about tattoos.
Over the years, students have photographed people from all walks of life—from tattoo artist Dutchess Lattimore to current and former professional athletes like Anthony Morrow, Thomas Davis, and Bilal Duckett to everyday Charlotteans from 18 to 68 years old. After years of shooting photographs, students are now taking the stories beyond a single image. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, they would host photoshoots once or twice a month to capture footage for the docuseries. Two weeks before they were supposed to travel to New York to interview photographers and other tattoo artists, the pandemic shut everything down.
“We started transitioning in November from just photoshoots to interviewing subjects,” Pendergrass said. “We came up with a series of questions, and worked our way through what kind of content we wanted to collect. Students are behind the mic, asking the questions to new subjects, and we’ve brought back some of our archive subjects. We’ve been able to interview four-five people who were part of the first-ever photoshoots.”
When they couldn’t shoot anymore, the photographers still had people who still filled out forms to participate in the interview process. Students and instructors have conducted Zoom interviews throughout COVID-19 to continue working on the project. They changed the approach for the project from a 20- to 30-minute short film to a docuseries.
“We said, ‘this has more legs than that, why not make it a docuseries where we can pull out different topics, or different themes, and we can still do that even through COVID-19 by doing Zoom interviews with people as they sign up,’” Pendergrass said. “Now we’re getting people signing up from across the country.”
Every participant gets a high-quality image that may be used in the docuseries or the coffee table book, which will be published as a fundraiser for the program.
“That’s going to be a series of images, both archived and new,” Pendergrass said. “There are several components of the project that still enable us to connect with people, and the students get to interview people. We’re still trying to work through COVID-19 and keep the program going for the kids.”
To watch the “Behind the Ink” trailer:
https://youtu.be/TOAexHK3fxo
For more information:
www.creatingexposure.com
Creating Exposure Through The Arts – awarded $4,500 Cultural Vision Grant to support the exhibition of the student documentary film “Behind The Ink” and artist talk with photographer Chi Modu in West Charlotte, South End and University areas in 2020-2021
Creating Exposure is bringing art to the community.
Read MoreCharlotte NC - February 1, 2020: Creating Exposure students from the Arts and Science Council sponsored Culture Blocks Program captured images at the American Cancer Society Relay For Live Kick Off event at the Live 360 stage in the Northlake Mall on Saturday February 1st.
Jason Harper, the morning anchor on Good Day Charlotte, emceed the show as he interviewed cancer survivors and American Cancer Society staff. The event included appearances by superheros and provided attendees with free giveaways, food and information about future events.
Images capture by Creating Exposure Through The Arts student photographers.
CHARLOTTE NC - December 14, 2019: Our Creating Exposure Through The Arts staff captured images at the Mingle Jingle Christmas Party or INLIVIAN, formerly the Charlotte Housing Authority. on December 14th in Uptown Charlotte. The holiday themed event included guest speakers, an award ceremony and free holiday portraits for attendees.
Images captured by Donald Sanchez and Kevin Bethea.
CHARLOTTE NC: NOVEMBER 14, 2019 - Profound Gentlemen is a local non-profit with a mission to a build community of male educators of color who provide a profound additional impact on boys of color. We seek to dismantle the cradle to prison pipeline by establishing a cradle to career pipeline for boys of color.
Images captured by Creating Exposure Through The Arts students and staff. (Jazlyn Jordan, Donald Sanchez, Kevin Bethea, Mark Pendergrass)
CHARLOTTE NC: NOVEMBER 7, 2019 - Creating Exposure students and staff join local organization Culture Queens to tour the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte. Culture Queens are a minority group of women who love art in its many forms and celebrate it, appreciate it, create it. The members of Culture Queens are artists, actors, models, fashion designers, singers, dancers and entrepreneurs.
Founded by Jennifer Michelle, the Culture Queens began to change the narrative regarding minority participation in the arts community. After a visit to the Mint Museum’s “African Print Fashion Now” exhibit, Jennifer decided to start a monthly meet up, offering members of the group an opportunity to visit local museums and galleries.
To date, the Culture Queens have visited McColl Center, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Laca Projects and the Mint Museum Randolph. Bridging the gap between art and the minority community and building relationships with each institution is our goal.
Through education and inclusion, the Culture Queens are defying stereotypes.
CHARLOTTE NC: October 17, 2019 - Creating Exposure Through The Arts photography students Jazlyn Jordan and Kendall Weddington captured images and shadowed Gerard Littlejohn, the Executive Director of the Steve Smith Family Foundation, at the Hygge Zero Night event. The evening featured speakers from the Hygge Family or Charlotte community who were given 10 minute talk on, well, anything they want. The attendees did not know the topic but that’s the point. It is a free event and the audience must be open to hearing something unexpected. The goal os Zero Nights is to bring our community together to pause for a moment, and learn from someone new. During the evening, Littlejohn shared personal stories of his childhood and his progress to success. While talking about the importance of giving back, he introduced the Creating Exposure Through The Arts photography students, asked them to stand up and shared how he invited them as his personal guests to visually document the evening.
CHARLOTTE NC: August 15, 2019 - The Arts & Science Council sponsored the FREE Culture Bites event to provide entertainment for the residents of West Charlotte. The day was filled with Live Music, Kids Activities, Pop-Up Performances, nd plenty of Free Giveaways.
Residents were encouraged to grab their lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy a taste of arts, culture, food and family fun at ASC’s Second Annual Culture Bites! The event was FREE and open to the public featuring live, family-friendly music, art and science activities for kids, dance, poetry, drum circle and a variety of food booths.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Kendall Weddington, a Creating Exposure Through The Arts teenage photographer, attended the 24th annual Black Enterprise FWD, the revamped, rebranded summit for entrepreneurs hosted by Nationwide June 19-22 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
The four-day conference brought together more than 1,200 of the nation's leading entrepreneurs, innovators, creators and founders of color with a special focus on tech-driven innovation and separate tracks for established firms and startups. "FWD: Business on Your Own Terms" provided an array of diverse entrepreneurs in attendance with networking, partnership, financing and other business-building opportunities.
Images captured included TV host Wendy Williams, singer, songwriter, rapper and entrepreneur Ryan Leslie, Entreprenuer Angela Simmons, Harlem Capital Partner John Henry, Entreprenuer and Founder of Solid Ground Innovations (SGI) and New Orleans-based technology startup Resilia Sevetri Wilson, Black Enterprise SVP/Editor-at-large Alfred Edmonds Jr, Black Enterprise President & CEO Earl Graves Jr,, Charlotte Council member James “Smuggie” Mitchell, Author/Speaker Carlos Davis, WBTV Reporter Dedrick Russell, and TV Producer/Founder of Made Lifestyle Collection Chuck Holiday.
Creating Exposure Through The Arts joined various media outlets to capture images at the 4th Annual Charity Fashion Show entitled “The Fashion Excursion”. The event was hosted by Jacinda Jacobs ( Charlotte Hornets Host ) and Yandrick Paraison (TV personality) on Sunday May 19, 2019 at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens.
Exclusively sponsored by Level21 Magazine and Shukura Oni, the show featured America's Next Top Model contestant Victoria Henley on the Red Carpet interviewing celebrity guest and socialites in attendance.
Images were captured by alumni student/mentor Kevin Bethea, student Kendall Weddington and executive director Mark Pendergrass. (c) 2019 CreatingExposurePhotography
Creating Exposure Through The Arts attended the Stimulus Photography exhibit which featured works of Ben Premeaux, Melissa Alexander, Gina Esquivel, Mitchell Kearny and William Paul Thomas. The event was moderated by Jonell Logan, independent curator and executive director of the League of Creative Interventionists.
Images by Kendall Weddington for Creating Exposure Photography (c) 2019
Native New Yorkers Donald Sanchez, a Charlotte Street Photographer and Mark Pendergras, Founder and Executive Director of Creating Exposure Through The Arts, volunteer to capture Glamour Shots for residents living at The Preston House senior living faciltiy located in the University Area of Charlotte North Carolina. Images by Donald E. Sanchez (c) 2019
Watch Essynce Minter and Mark Pendergrass share thoughts about the Black Lives Matter Movement.
All Images are Property of C.E.A. Photography Group.
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