2026 LFGB

✳︎

SAVE THE DATE

✳︎

Thu May 7

✳︎

2026 LFGB

✳︎

SAVE THE DATE

✳︎

Thu May 7

✳︎

2026 LFGB ✳︎ SAVE THE DATE ✳︎ Thu May 7 ✳︎ 2026 LFGB ✳︎ SAVE THE DATE ✳︎ Thu May 7 ✳︎

Looking Forward, Giving Back

With your support we raised over $85,000 at Looking Forward, Giving Back 2025!

Thank you to everyone who came out to Looking Forward Giving Back last night! It was a packed house with over 350 people showing up for First Exposures! With your support, whether through buying tickets, giving donations, or winning artwork, we were able to raise $85,000 for First Exposures! This will have a direct and lasting impact on sustaining our free photo mentorship programming for Bay Area youth.

A special thanks to Binh Danh for being our guest artist and inspiring our young people! And of course, so much appreciation to all of our artists, volunteers, host committee, board, sponsors, and staff for making this event such a success!

Image credit (to left): LFGB photographs by guests via social media

Support FX

Join us for our 2025 Looking Forward Giving Back event!

Welcome remarks by artist Binh Danh

Silent auction featuring artwork by mentees, mentors, & artists from our community

Delectable Hors d’Oeuvres 

Fine wines & artisanal beer

Photo Studio courtesy of Orange Photography​

Hosted by First Exposures & by our mentees

  • Celebrate with us at SOMArts on Thursday, May 8th, 2025 from 6pm to 9pm:

    SOMArts Cultural Center
    934 Brannan Street
    San Francisco CA 94103

    www.somarts.org

  • Event tickets are sliding scale from $75 for general admission to $5000 for sponsorships. We also have tickets for $40 for community members. Tickets include entrance, hors d’oeuvres & premium beer & fine wines.

    <Tickets link>

  • Enjoy the evening and support local artists and bid on artwork made by mentees, mentors & our community of artists.

    If you can’t join us in-person, the Silent Auction will be online for mobile bidding throughout the day and event. Bid early, Buy-it-now, or bid till the last minute to own a new piece of artwork!

    <Sneak Peek link to the Auction>

  • Your support will directly impact First Exposures’ efforts in sustaining a safe, vibrant, & transformative space for our young people.

    Donate to FX

2025 LFGB HOST COMMITTEE

Kimberley Arteche
Joy Caves
Vivian Chan
Diane Chung
Judy Dater
Renée Decarlo
Maggie Dethloff 
Monique Deschaines
Jessica Galloway

Photograph by Rebecca, age 14

Jim Goldberg
Mark Haffenreffer
Gene Hwang
Ann Jastrab
Cristy Johnston Limon
Delaney Kennedy
Sean McFarland
Courtney Norris, Chair
Kari Orvik

Su-Moon Paik
Daniel Plotnick
PJ Policarpio
Don Ross
Ari Salomon
Alessandra Sanguinetti
Jane Timberlake
Anne Walker
Connie Wolf

Binh Danh's piece for Looking Forward Giving Back Art Auction

View from Glacier Point, Yosemite, CA
Daguerreotype, 2017

2025 LFGB SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER

BINH DANH

Visual artist Binh Danh will be Looking Forward Giving Back 2025's special guest speaker! His gorgeous daguerreotype along with a beautiful community of young photography mentees, mentors, & Bay Area photographers are coming together to support First Exposures' annual art auction.

Binh Danh investigates Vietnamese heritage and collective memory of war. His technique incorporates his invention of the chlorophyll printing process, in which photographic images appear embedded in leaves through the action of photosynthesis. A recent series of daguerreotypes celebrated the United States National Park system during its anniversary year.

Binh Danh's work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, the SFMOMA, The DeYoung Museum, & many others. He is represented by Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA and Lisa Sette Gallery in Phoenix, AZ. He lives and works in San Jose, CA and teaches photography at San Jose State University.

Learn more about Binh

  • "First Exposures has been a perfect place for expressing myself creatively for the past 5 years. I have grown through the program and learned many things along the way. My favorite memories come from the darkroom at First Exposures, I enjoy making prints and the process that comes with it. My favorite memory with Bobo is the field trip to Chinatown. It was really fun talking and taking photos of various things while walking."

    Kieffer, age 17
    2025 LFGB Mentee Speaker

Still have questions? Reach out anytime. 

Your Questions, Answered
Contact us

  • Ticketing page is still to be set up — come back to this page in April.

  • Absolutely — we are always looking for sponsors! Please email our Development Associate, Jaime Wong at jaime@firstexposures.org.

  • You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond quickly!