« Our biggest event of the year was our second annual SYiM Showcase held on December 14th and 15th, where 20 youth from the north and 20 youth from the south came together to take part in art based workshops: Beading with Meghan Young and Matilda Suganaqueb, Photography with Sherry Prenevost, Mixed Media Arts with Lucille Atlookan and Lisa Irvine, and hoop dancing with Nimkii Osawamick. It was an incredibly memorable weekend!
What were the highlights from this year’s showcase?
The highlights of this year’s showcase was seeing such a large group of youth from all across Ontario truly connect, get to know each other, share their art and who they are. It was the first time many youth stood up in front of a large group and performed/talked about what makes their art special. There was one moment where a young woman stood up and sang her favourite song, the whole group was floored because none of us knew she was a singer and she was incredible.
How was it different from last year’s?
The Showcase was much different than last year, firstly because it was a two-day conference and on day one we facilitated four arts-based workshops: beading, hoop dancing, photography and mixed media. We received great feedback on these workshops; in fact we heard that the youth had new found interests in some of these workshops – as possibilities for future careers or hobbies. The next biggest different is the number of youth we had – 20 youth from southern Ontario and 20 youth from northern Ontario. The representing communities and cities are:
- Fort Hope
- Webequie
- Manitoulin Island
- Sandy Lake
- Neskantaga First Nation
- Wapekeka First Nation
- Kasabonika
- Deer Lake
- Keewaywin
- Oakville
- Oshawa
- Kingston
- Markham
- Toronto
- Mississauga
- Vaughn
This year’s conference we asked the youth to rename SYiM, in their four groups everyone came up with one name and we combined the two names with the highest votes. SYiM’s new name is 4D: Youth in Action or Four Directions: Youth in Action.
What’s new for SYiM in 2014?
4D: Youth in Action is currently working on the next zine, which will be coming out in the next couple of months. Since one of our workshops was photography, we will have some great photos from youth through their eyes. We are very excited for this next zine, we think it will be our best one yet! »
If you are interested in art, music, videos, etc. and would like to get involved with 4D: Youth in Action, please contact Lauren Akbar at lauren.akbar@northsouthpartnership.com or connect with them on Facebook.
Click here to read past ArtBridges’ posts about 4D: Youth in Action.
Submitted by Lauren Akbar, Youth Engagement Coordinator
4D: Youth in Action / North South Partnership for Children
Photos courtesy of 4D: Youth in Action
Read 4D: Youth in Action’s profile on ArtBridges’ Community-Engaged Arts Directory and Map.
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