Junior Dana Nguyen’s passion for photography brought her all the way to New York City, something that was once only a dream, where she showcased her photos in an art exhibition on Oct. 1.
She displayed two photos in Teen Dream, a pop-up art show presented by fashion retailer Topshop. Teen Dream is an art exhibition founded by art producer Brittany Natale, featuring art created by young women between the ages of 13 and 20. The showcase includes illustrators, photographers, painters, writers and other artists.
“[Natale] wanted to create a safe space for girls to show and present their work because it’s kind of hard to get exposure when you’re young and you’re still in high school,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen believes that Natale uses her platform as an art producer to lift young women up and show their potential to the world.
Natale personally invited Nguyen to show her photography in the exhibition after she saw Nguyen art on a friend’s Instagram page.
She was so surprised when Natale contacted her that she excitedly screeched during class.
“I honestly screamed. It was so exciting,” Nguyen said. “I had never really had something like that happen to me before.”
Nguyen is still working with Natale and expanding herself as an artist.
“[Teen Dream] definitely opened up a lot of opportunities. I’m still talking to [Natale] about future things and plans. It was really exciting because I didn’t think my work would be on the Nylon Mag website either,” Nguyen said.
Nylon Magazine wrote a story on Teen Dream, and two of the photos that they featured were taken by Nguyen.
Of the two photos that she displayed in Teen Dream and featured in Nylon Magazine, her favorite was one of a girl reading a newspaper.
“What I had in mind when I was taking it was this French film that I really like called Amelie. The colors and the tones in it just really inspired me to emulate that film,” Nguyen said.
To Nguyen, photography is about seeing something through someone else’s perspective.
“It really gives you a window into how people see things or view the world and things like that,” Nguyen said. “I think that’s really special and it’s just a really interesting way that people can express themselves.”
