Jarrel Phillips

Jarrel Phillips was born and raised in the Fillmore district of San Francisco. In 2010 he founded Access Via Exposure (AVE), an organization dedicated to the social and physical development of youth and their families and community. He has worked with youth since 2001 from the SF Bay Area to East Africa and beyond. He is an educator, documentarian, historian and cultural curator utilizing mixed media to tell, preserve, and connect our stories across the globe. Through the mediums of journalism, photography, film production, performance, and writing, Phillips explores the world through a sociocultural context. A substantial part of his work explores the African diaspora and its global presence and influence.

Phillips’s work emphasizes ‘living folklore’. He defines ‘living folklore’ as the unfolding and continued cultivation of our lived experience, from the past to the present, through our community history. This includes traditions, stories, customs, beliefs and myths. He explores the important role that stories play in our lives, pulling from his very own life experiences as an SF native and world traveler.

Phillips believes that our individual and collective stories can build bridges across cultures and communities and spark dialogue that inspires personal and collective growth and transformation.

Work Samples

Film Producer

Educator & Speaker

Performer and Storyteller

Curator

Writer

Learn More about Phillips and his work:

Home is in collaboration with the African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC) in San Francisco, California. www.aaacc.org

This project is made possible in part by a grant from the Creative Work Fund, a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund that also is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.