The Weston Collective Youth Programs
Aromas School, 100 Clock Tower Place, Ste 120, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93923
About
The Weston Collective Youth Programs focus on learning photography through both analog and digital methods. Youth take part in traditional black and white film photography, elementary through high school photography classes, open darkroom hours, exhibitions, artist-in-residency programs, and the annual Weston Scholarship portfolio competition.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Community Darkroom hours of operation are by appointment; families are asked to call to inquire about times and days.
Founded in 2004, The Weston Collective is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Monterey County that teaches and exhibits photography and expands students’ analytic and creative thinking by putting cameras into their hands. The organization is committed to teaching analog (film) and digital photography to students on the Central Coast of California, primarily in Monterey County, regardless of age, disabilities, socioeconomics, demographics, race, or sexual identification. The Youth Programs uphold this mission by engaging and mentoring youth through in-class and after school photography programs.
The Weston Collective operates a Community Darkroom satellite program at Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts (MLKSOA) in Seaside, California, where students can practice traditional black and white film photography. This darkroom includes 7 enlargers, two eight-foot sinks, stocked chemistry, drying racks, and an additional developing room that is separate from the darkroom so printing and developing can occur at the same time. If a student needs a camera, mat board, tripod, or darkroom time to submit a portfolio to the Weston Scholarship, The Weston Collective is committed to making sure the student has these tools.
The Weston Collective teaches elementary through high school photography classes, holds the annual Weston Scholarship, offers classes and open darkroom hours to adults, and hosts exhibitions and artist-in-residency programs. School partners include Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts, The Dual Language Academy, Monte Vista Elementary, San Juan School, and Aromas School. Scholarship recipients’ photographs are framed and displayed in a local museum or gallery.
The leadership team includes Executive Director Zach Weston, Head Curator and Educator Jalena Jampolsky, and Educator Nadia Gutierrez. Zach Weston is a fourth generation fine art film photographer from the Edward Weston family and was appointed executive director by The Weston Collective Board of Directors in 2016. Jalena Jampolsky has held research and curatorial roles at the Newark Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and holds an M.A. in the History of Art and Archeology from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and a B.A. with honors in the History of Art and Visual Culture from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Nadia Gutierrez graduated from Monterey Peninsula College with an AA in Fine Art Photography and Art History and is working on a BA in Visual and Public Arts at California State University Monterey Bay.
A quote associated with the program is from Edward Weston: “Through this photographic eye you will be able to look out on a new light-world, a world for the most part uncharted and unexplored, a world that lies waiting to be discovered and revealed.”
Last updated March 11, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Community Darkroom hours of operation are by appointment; families are asked to call to inquire about times and days.
Founded in 2004, The Weston Collective is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Monterey County that teaches and exhibits photography and expands students’ analytic and creative thinking by putting cameras into their hands. The organization is committed to teaching analog (film) and digital photography to students on the Central Coast of California, primarily in Monterey County, regardless of age, disabilities, socioeconomics, demographics, race, or sexual identification. The Youth Programs uphold this mission by engaging and mentoring youth through in-class and after school photography programs.
The Weston Collective operates a Community Darkroom satellite program at Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts (MLKSOA) in Seaside, California, where students can practice traditional black and white film photography. This darkroom includes 7 enlargers, two eight-foot sinks, stocked chemistry, drying racks, and an additional developing room that is separate from the darkroom so printing and developing can occur at the same time. If a student needs a camera, mat board, tripod, or darkroom time to submit a portfolio to the Weston Scholarship, The Weston Collective is committed to making sure the student has these tools.
The Weston Collective teaches elementary through high school photography classes, holds the annual Weston Scholarship, offers classes and open darkroom hours to adults, and hosts exhibitions and artist-in-residency programs. School partners include Martin Luther King Jr. School of the Arts, The Dual Language Academy, Monte Vista Elementary, San Juan School, and Aromas School. Scholarship recipients’ photographs are framed and displayed in a local museum or gallery.
The leadership team includes Executive Director Zach Weston, Head Curator and Educator Jalena Jampolsky, and Educator Nadia Gutierrez. Zach Weston is a fourth generation fine art film photographer from the Edward Weston family and was appointed executive director by The Weston Collective Board of Directors in 2016. Jalena Jampolsky has held research and curatorial roles at the Newark Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and holds an M.A. in the History of Art and Archeology from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and a B.A. with honors in the History of Art and Visual Culture from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Nadia Gutierrez graduated from Monterey Peninsula College with an AA in Fine Art Photography and Art History and is working on a BA in Visual and Public Arts at California State University Monterey Bay.
A quote associated with the program is from Edward Weston: “Through this photographic eye you will be able to look out on a new light-world, a world for the most part uncharted and unexplored, a world that lies waiting to be discovered and revealed.”
Last updated March 11, 2026.
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