LOS ANGELES — Kelty Keltner, 13, is one of the winning photographers of "In Pursuit of...," an open call for photography from the design lab Amplifier and the J. Paul Getty Museum. 

Thirty-one winners were selected out of 1,500 submissions based on their creative response to the Declaration of Independence phrase, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

"I'm in pursuit of many things," Keltner said. "Equal pay for everyone, for men, women, and others. Black Lives Matter. Saving our National Forests, saving the bees. Pretty much most things relating to climate change as well."

What You Need To Know

  • Out of 1500 submissions, 31 teen photographers were selected as winners of the open call, “In Pursuit of...”

  • Winning artworks were displayed as large-scale projections in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Anchorage, and Washington, D.C.

  • The panel of judges include Mazie Harris, Richard Rand, Tuyet Bach, Aaron Huey, Cleo Barnett, Chip Thomas, Joanna Toruño, Phil America, Arlene Mejorado, Chuck Grant and Maceo Paisley

  • Amplifier is a nonprofit design lab that makes art and media experiments to amplify the most important social movements of our time.

Keltner sent in her photo titled Wasn't it Pretty and was excited to learn she was one of the winners. The open call was designed for teenage students, and selected artworks were displayed as large-scale projections across the United States from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. For Keltner, she's grateful her photo is part of a larger picture.

"Everyone takes photos, so that already has like a community," Keltner said. "If you take photos, you're part of a community with most people. It's like a very inclusive art."

Pursuing photography makes Keltner happy, she said.

Cleo Barnett is the executive director of Amplifier, and she said asking teen photographers to think thematically helps them to think critically in their lives.

"The real power with art is its transformational nature," Barnett said. "When we ask young people to create artwork around what they were in pursuit of, it was more so an exercise in them developing their own visual language for how they can use their artistic practice, bring it in the public space, and then make a difference in their own community."

After growing up in downtown L.A., Keltner moved to Glendale, where she's currently attending a school focused on teaching environmentalism, which lends to her interest in capturing environmental justice issues on camera.

"Well, I think everyone should take a photo a day because it's accessible, and you can share it with as many people as you like, and they can share it with as many people as you like," Keltner said.