Torres-Vives is a professor and Program Director at the ASU California Center in downtown Los Angeles, California at Arizona State University's Sidney Poitier New American Film School. He teaches film directing and production as well as directing the Semester in Los Angeles Program.

Rolling Rez Arts - filmmaker residence at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

Working with Lakota filmmakers Razelle Benally and Jesse Short Bull, we conducted a week-long filmmaking workshop on the Rolling Rez state of the art mobile art space. This collaboration with First Peoples Fund and and the Rolling Rez Arts mobile art space exposed young people on Pine Ridge to multiple modes of filmmaking and is part of my long-term collaboration with Short Bull.

More info on Rolling Rez Arts and First Peoples Fund.

Gallery view of exhibit:  SPARC Gallery in Venice, California from June 22, 2012-September 20, 2012

In the two years of teaching and collaborating with young men at Probation Camp David Gonzales we have used photography and technology to examine and reimagine the world around them. In bi-weekly classes we learn about cameras and computers, but more importantly we use creativity and trust to visualize what is possible.  The images and words become a New Road; where we can access technology, visual literacy, sincere conversation and the hands-on joy of creating. Although my time working with these young men is sometimes short, I am constantly impressed by their resilience; as they reshape an image, rewrite a letter or recount the complex struggles that led them to our small classroom behind the wall.

As part of his continuing work with multiple communities, Torres-Vives has taught film and photography to incarcerated youth in Los Angeles, homeless LGBTQ youth, immigrants, and gang-related men, among others. From 1998-2004, Torres-Vives was the Executive Director of a non-profit video/photo production company, overseeing production teams on multiple short videos and long form projects for community organizations and private companies; including U.S. Bancorp, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the San Diego Mayor’s Arts Committee; where he led all phases of program, financial, and organizational development. This community work was recognized with multiple awards from National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the California Arts Council, and the San Diego commission for Arts and Culture; as well as multiple museum and gallery exhibitions (full list available).