Two youth-bettering programs have been selected to receive local award
The Guelph Arts Council has named two recipients for the 2016 Youth Opportunities Award. This year, the award has gone to Jessica Jang and Shelldale Better Beginnings, Better Futures.
The award recognizes programs that increase artistic literacy in young people and is given to initiators of projects that enhance or expand artistic opportunities for youth in Guelph.
The award can be given to artists or not-for-profit organizations, community groups, educational institutions, and student groups.
Recipients are chosen based on their innovation, originality, creativity, and ideally, their ability to tackle identified gaps or needs in the Guelph community. The amount varies between years. In 2016, the award for such projects was $400.
Jang has been awarded for her “Print Power Project!” The project is a weekend-long workshop for youth aged 14 to 19 interested in learning the processes behind printmaking.
Participants learn various skills and techniques through hands-on activities and visits to local community spaces that highlight independent creative learning.
Those partaking in the project will be able to learn about the local resources available to them, work with professional artists, and connect with peers with similar interests. Jang’s project targets experiences in which youth in the Guelph-Wellington area rarely get to partake.
The second recipient, Shelldale Better Beginnings, Better Futures, offers a new arts program for female youths in grades 7 to 12.The art program assists youth in the Onward WILLOW neighbourhood, an area of high-density housing with a large population of immigrants and refugees. The program offers art workshops and gallery tours in the community.
Participants gain exposure to the arts sector, and the program encourages the young women to continue participation in their neighbourhood art programs. At the end of the art program, girls are able to take home art supplies and continue using them to explore their creative talents.
The Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Award aims to expand artistic talents in neglected areas and sectors of Guelph. Their aim is to encourage youth to become engaged in the arts. The award is managed by The Guelph Community Foundation and is available each year.
Photo courtesy of Celeste Lindell VIA (CC BY 2.0).