Guelph Arts Council announced that the 2016 Youth Opportunities Award will be shared by two applicants who will offer opportunities for Guelph and Wellington County children and youth to become engaged in the arts.
The recipients are artist/educator Jessica Jang and Shelldale Better Beginnings, Better Futures.
Jang requested support for her “Print Power Project!” which will offer a free, community-based, weekend-long printmaking learning experience for youth aged 14 to 19.
Participants will learn various printmaking techniques and skills, including how to make “their own voices heard through print media.”
Through both hands-on activities and visits to local creative spaces that foster independent learning, participants will have opportunities to connect with like-minded peers, become aware of local arts-based resources, and work alongside professional artists.
Shelldale Better Beginnings, Better Futures applied for assistance to offer a new art program for girls in Grades 7 to 12 in the Onward Willow neighbourhood area of high-density housing and a large immigrant and refugee population.
Through workshops to enhance their art skills as well as gallery tours in the community, these girls will gain exposure to art that they might not otherwise have had and also be encouraged to remain engaged in neighbourhood programming beyond Grade 6. At the end of the program, they will be able to take home their art supplies and thus continue to hone their artistic talents.
The Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Award is intended to encourage programs that will initiate, enhance or expand opportunities for Guelph and Wellington County children and youth to experience or become engaged in the arts.
Funds for the award come from the Guelph Arts Council Youth Opportunities Fund managed by The Guelph Community Foundation.
Guelph Arts Council thanks new award sponsor Children’s Art Factory and its owner Melissa Mazar, a previous award recipient, for making it possible for to support two projects this year.
For more information about the award program, contact Guelph Arts Council at 519-836-3280 or administration@guelpharts.ca.
