"What Do You See" Left to Right: DeAngelo Brown, Quanteria Sitton, Bryant Saners and Niquay Jennings

UNC Asheville senior Philip Kleisler is helping some budding local artists learn to see Asheville with new eyes. Kleisler is site director for YMCA Community Outreach, a local after-school program designed for at-risk students. During the summer months, students spend the day with program leaders, hiking in the woods, working on team building skills and discovering their artistic talents.

In June, eight Asheville Middle School students in the program were given cameras to take home for two weeks. After a few photography lessons from professional photographer Jason Briscoe, the students were charged with snapping shots of the people, places and things that meant the most to them.

"The counselors didn't assist the students at all during the process," Kleisler said. "Students shot in their neighborhoods -- from Pisgah View Apartments to Hillcrest to West Asheville. The photos are windows in their lives, the way they see it," he said.

Kleisler and the other counselors helped the students collect the best 16 photos for an exhibit. "Urban Youth: Our Lives, Our Story" will be on view through July 31 at UNC Asheville's Blowers Gallery, located on the main floor of Ramsey Library. A reception with the young artists will be held from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, July 26, in the gallery. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The student photographers are DeAngelo Brown, Jakala Garner, Yesnia Gonzalez, Niquay Jennings, Bryant Sanders, Quanteria Sitton, Quantisha Watkins and De'sha Wingate.

The exhibition is made possible through the support of Iris Photo + Digital Imaging and  Philip and Jeanne Kleisler, and is presented by the Community Outreach Program of the YMCA of Western North Carolina.

The YMCA of Western North Carolina's Community Outreach Program serves at-risk Buncombe County youth. Participants gain decision making and conflict resolution skills, which improve self-esteem and self-control and helps to reduce school truancy and court involvement. Juvenile services, school counselors, mental health professionals and parents refer students to the free program, which includes a YMCA Youth membership. For more information about the Community Outreach Program, call 828/210-9604.

Blowers Gallery, located on the main floor of UNC Asheville's Ramsey Library, is open during regular library hours. For hours of operation, call UNC Asheville's Ramsey Library at 828/251-6546.