June 8, 2006

(San Francisco, CA) – Over 100 larger than life photographs of six extraordinary young women is the latest creation by renowned San Francisco artist and photographer Patrick Stull. In an original visual arts exhibit, Stull has documented the transformation that these six girls have gone through after completing a unique leadership program that focuses on Jewish learning and community issues. Through the photographs, recorded conversations and music, these young women share their lives, their friendships, the magic and wonder of being Jewish, the emotional and physical draw they have toward Israel and how they see their place in a world of turmoil. Visitors will learn how these young women discovered something that Stull believes everyone needs in their lives: love, friendship, a sense of belonging, the discovery of their culture, an understanding of Judaism and a profound sense of purpose.

Stull explains, “When I walk through this exhibit, the scale of these photographs makes these girls real to me. I feel as though they are actually talking to me. I get goose bumps at times, other times I feel like crying when I hear some of the things that have happened in their lives. It is so honest; it strikes a chord inside you.”

Each of the six young women featured in the exhibit were students of The Diller Teen Fellows program of the San Francisco-based Bureau of Jewish Education, an innovative eight-month curriculum for selected 11th graders. The Diller Teen Fellows asserts that by experiencing Israel’s diverse and challenging environment, the teens will be inspired to become leaders in the American Jewish community. The students participate during seven Sunday workshops and two intensive weekend retreats. The program culminates with a summer seminar in Israel. Stull adds, “I think there is something here that we can all learn about investing in our youth and helping them and listening to what they have to say.”

Stull has embarked on a life long passion to create visual art exhibitions that encompass photography, audio/music and other visual art forms into photo-journalistic essays. He has a wide variety of interests that span political, social, and humanistic boundaries. Stull has spent 25 years in the corporate world working in banking, retail merchandising and technology. In addition, he established his own financial consulting firm in 1990 that assisted local and state governments. However, this new venture into photojournalism may be his most successful and interesting of all.

Working out of his San Francisco Mission Bay photography studio, Stull produces leading-edge photographic work that is digitally captured and produced with state of the art technology. The only film in his studio is in the refrigerator, there as a historical reminder that “change is necessary, even required, to live your life to its fullest. His photographs span almost every conceivable presentation form for the viewer. Stull choreographs, photographs, records and prints all of his own work. He believes this holistic production approach allows one to experience, in its totality, the art form. He comments, “You need to be excited, scared, exhausted, sometimes on the verge of giving up and most of all inspired by your subject in order to create an exceptional body of work.”

The Diller Teen Fellows Program is funded by the Helen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. Due to the success of the Bay Area program, there are plans to create similar Diller Teen Fellow programs nationwide.

The Jewish Community Federation is the central organization for fundraising, planning, outreach and leadership development for Jewish communities in San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. In FY 2004-05, the Federation’s annual campaign allocated $16.9 million to some 60 agencies providing social services, educational and cultural programs in the Bay Area, in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere in the world. In fiscal year 2005, the Federation’s Endowment Fund, with assets exceeding $1.05 billion, provided more than $215 million for a variety of grants, seed projects and emergency needs in fiscal year 2004/2005. For information, call 415.777.0411 or visit www.sfjcf.org.