A project based in Minto was announced last week as a co-winner of the Guelph Arts Council’s 2010 Youth Opportunities Award.
The “Graphic Short Story Project” is led by Wesley Bates in partnership with Norwell Secondary School in Palmerston and The Minto Arts Council. At the heart of this program is the ability to engage young people in arts that acknowledge youth culture and focus on students’ language and visual arts.
The final work will be integrated into The Minto Arts Council’s exhibit on graphic novels, to be held in 2012. The Guelph Arts Council panel was very interested in this project’s ability to connect young people to arts relevant to them, the opportunity to share their work in a public exhibition and the blending of both visual and written arts.
The second winner of the award is a partnership between Season Singers and Guelph Little Theatre to train young people in the fundamentals of analog sound boards operation and sound mixing for live events.
The program will be open to any interested students and will offer the opportunity to mentor other young people and open the door to further theatre involvement. The award panel was impressed by this project’s recognition of the skills and interests of youth, the creation of further opportunities for young people themselves to act as mentors and the chance for young people to have access to technical theatre training not often available.
Both Guelph Arts Council and the jury panel were extremely pleased with the range of applications for the 2010 Youth Opportunities Award, and the creativity behind the proposals.
Established in 2009, the award is intended to encourage programs that will initiate, enhance or expand opportunities for children and youth in Guelph and Wellington County to experience or become in engaged in the arts. Funds for the award come from the Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Fund, managed by the Guelph Community Foundation, and a generous gift from Guelph Toyota.
For more information contact the Guelph Arts Council at 519-836-3280 or ed.gac@sentex.net.
