{"id":25924,"date":"2020-02-13T19:16:22","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T00:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=25924"},"modified":"2020-02-21T18:16:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-21T23:16:23","slug":"art-fuels-imagination-and-emotion-at-youth-arts-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/art-fuels-imagination-and-emotion-at-youth-arts-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Art fuels imagination and emotion at Youth Arts celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When words simply won\u2019t do, art can often do the talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each brushstroke, snap of a shutter, or the stitch of a\nneedle can be expressive and healing, but putting it up for members of the\npublic to view and enjoy can also be a cathartic experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local high school students shared their joys and sorrows\nwith members of the public through their visual art on Wednesday night at the\ngrand opening of the Mayor\u2019s Celebration of Youth Arts, a joint exhibition at\nthe Aurora Cultural Centre, curated by Grade 12 students from Aurora High\nSchool, St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic High School, Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary\nSchool, and ESC Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For St. Max student Sabrina Scinocco, the art she created\nwith her best friend and peer Jocelyn Barrowclough was more than just two\ncomplimentary paintings on the wall of the Aurora Cultural Centre\u2019s Blue\nGallery, it was a very potent and timely message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duo created a diptych \u2013 two images intended to be\ndisplayed together \u2013 called \u201cInside Out,\u201d Sabrina\u2019s self-portrait is an\nevocative piece representing her inner feelings while Jocelyn\u2019s portrait is\nfaceless, the void that would ordinarily be occupied by a face instead filled\nwith discarded pages from a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to do a piece like this because it connects us\nas best friends,\u201d said Sabrina. \u201cI have problems I have dealt with on the\noutside like sexual harassment \u2013\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I have dealt with issues more like anxiety and\ndepression,\u201d added Jocelyn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re advocates for persons facing both of these\nchallenges,\u201d Sabrina continues. \u201cThis diptych represents the connection between\nour friendships and how we both help each other get through these problems. To\nbe honest, if I didn\u2019t have her I would have been lost. That is why this piece\nmeans so much to us and why we wanted to curate a show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jocelyn notes she made a conscious decision to paint her\nportrait without a face to \u201crepresent anxiety and the losing of self.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you look closely, the book pages relate to\nfriendship, which is something that really helped me get through stuff like\nthat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want viewers to consider the connections you can find\nwith people and think about the story you can tell with artwork \u2013 not by really\nsaying something, but showing something and taking a deeper meaning of art and\nhow you can really say something when you don\u2019t know how to express them,\u201d said\nSabrina. \u201cEven now, it was hard for me to talk about it during our critique. We\nstill cried a lot, it was hard, but it felt better and it felt like I got\nsomething off my chest. We\u2019re not scared anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The genesis of the Mayor\u2019s Celebration of Youth Arts came\nfrom a 2011 art exhibition featuring the works of Aurora High School Students.\nIt has grown significantly with each passing year, bringing together students\nfrom across Aurora \u2013 and across school board and the public and independent\nschool divide \u2013 all fuelled by a passion for expressing themselves through art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition received the support of the Mayor\u2019s Office\nin 2017, and this support has been unwavering ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an important event, providing an opportunity for\nyoung people to come together, be creative, have fun and experience something\nmeaningful,\u201d said Mayor Tom Mrakas at Wednesday night\u2019s exhibition opening. \u201cWe\nall know art inspires imagination, confidence, leadership, creative thinking\nand social engagement. It helps our youth build skills to move forward and\ncreate a good foundation for their future. With every art piece a student\ncreates, they are using their creativity, their vision, dreams, wonder and\nsense of the world. This is an excellent opportunity or all of us, as adults,\nto better understand our youth and the issues that matter most to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition is also an important one for the Aurora\nCultural Centre, said Executive Director Suzanne Haines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a professional gallery venue, our work is deeply\nenriched by having young voices in our space with this kind of exhibition,\u201d she\nsaid. \u201cIt is meaningful to have the collaboration with the schools and the\nschool boards as we serve the community. It is an opportunity for students to\ncollaboratively curate their art, choose themes, placement and learn from\nprofessional staff on how to build an exhibit of mixed work. The significance\nfor the graduates to show their work for families, friends and for their\nportfolio \u2013 and it is important for us as a cultural institution to see, learn\nand experience what Grade 12 students are expressing in this, their final year\nbefore moving into the next phase of their careers and lives. We thank you for\nsharing your voice and creations with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although she was unable to attend last Wednesday\u2019s\nopening, Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill MP Leona Alleslev had the chance to\ntour the exhibition the previous Saturday and, in a written message, shared her\ncongratulations with all participating students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis evening, we recognize the incredible talents and\nachievements of our local Grade 12 students. It is remarkable to witness and\ncelebrate the next generation of artists who may not know it but are inspiring\nothers to pursue and embrace the arts,\u201d she said. \u201cEach artist is showcasing\ntheir talents boldly and I have no doubt will achieve greatness through their\ndedication to the arts. I would like to thank the students for having the\ncourage to share their artwork with us in this exhibit and the teachers,\nfamilies and friends who continue to inspire and encourage these students to\nshowcase their talents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mayor\u2019s Celebration of Youth Art continues at the Aurora Cultural Centre through February 29, with a special evening dedicated to Performing Arts set for Wednesday, February 19, at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir <\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When words simply won\u2019t do, art can often do the talking. Each brushstroke, snap of a shutter, or the stitch of a needle can be expressive and healing, but putting it up for members of the public to view and enjoy can also be a cathartic experience. Local high school students shared their joys and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/2020-02-13-03.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-6K8","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 11:18:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}