Breaking the Mold: experimenting with new mediums of expression
the Broadway Youth Resource Centre Youth Art & Media Gallery
By Ivy So,
GetOut! Youth Reporter
Two best friends, Julia and Thoa, are both photography junkies and budding musician/songwriters. Painting, however, has not always been on their radar as a form of self-expression. This past summer, though, the girls took a dive for something fresh and experimented with acrylic paints to express themselves in a new medium. As evident in their smiles reminiscing of the experience, it was undeniable that the painting adventure has left a positive impact as a highlight of their summer.
The opportunity for Julia and Thoa to explore a new medium of self-expression was provided by a GetOut! sponsored project known as the Broadway Youth Resource Centre (BYRC) Youth Arts and Media Gallery. The summer-long project gathered 16 youth from a diversity of backgrounds, ranging from youth who were homeless, who experienced substance misuse, who have recently immigrated to Canada or who lacked social support in the community, to those who were actively involved in extracurricular activities and volunteer work. The diversity in the group proved to be beneficial 
for the project, as the participants valued the varying perspectives and feedback from each other, and witnessed the respect and support that those in a diverse group can provide for one another.
Collectively, the sixteen youth transformed the original BYRC boardroom into an impressive youth-based, youth-driven visual arts gallery that will become a permanent venue for art workshops, performances and the exhibition of youth visual arts. The youth group had the opportunity to consult with two professional adult artists: Brenda Carr, Maria Daley, and one professional youth artist: Vincent Dumoulin. As evident in the participants' speeches and the overwhelming sense of appreciation on the gallery's opening night, these mentors - along with the program coordinators, Vi Nguyen, Gail Winacott and Hector Walker - have been a great resource and support for the youth participants.
Expression of creativity and individual voice was definitely a theme in this youth project. Simply by walking into the gallery, one can immediately hear the distinctive voices oozing from each piece of artwork; yet, these voices sing in a pleasant harmony. Further, in this creative project, self-expression is not bounded by the limits of the artwork hanging on the walls. Youth participants designed their own t-shirts and showcased them on their bodies during the gallery's opening night as a means of expressing their self-identity. Possibilities were endless and the finished products ranged far and wide - from Julia's portrait of one of her heroes, Che Guevara, to Thoa's t-shirt design that turned out to be a symbolic collage of important people in her life.
By providing youth with an opportunity to express themselves in new mediums, the Broadway Youth Resource Centre Gallery allowed the participants such as Julia to, in her words, "show people what we're interested in and what we are inspired by."
For Julia and Thoa, this meant working together on a painting inspired by the album cover of their favourite band, Alexisonfire. For others, it may be their chance to speak up against the social pressures that youth are facing today; the socials pressures, as Julia states, to "be a certain somebody and to act a certain way." Julia and Thoa, however, seem to have seen through the light, as they contend that the best thing to do is "just be yourself" - to which the two of them reached up for a high-five.
Indeed, high-fives all around.
» Read more about this project
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