The Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery has partnered with young people to create a volunteer Youth Action Arts Council.
The group is an art-focused group for students between the ages of 13 and 17 where they can earn community service hours.
They learn the ins-and-outs of running an art gallery, gain hands-on experience, plan and schedule events and learn how to work within a council.
The council’s founder, Manahel (Mona) Kashif, is a Grade 11 student at Eastdale CVI. She says she didn’t feel like there were enough extracurriculars geared towards youth interested in art.
“When other art organizations here don’t allow us to get those opportunities, I knew I had to do something,” says Kashif.
She took the lack of art-focused youth groups and used it as an opportunity to advocate for young people in Oshawa to make a change.
She first pitched the idea to the RMG in May of this year. She created an outline, and from there she and the RMG collaborated to make the YAAC a reality just before the summer started.
Over the summer, the council participated in community events such as the RMG Garden Party. The RMG Garden Party in August invited community members to come together to enjoy art, nature, live music, planting, pollinating and more.
The Oshawa Garden Club hosted these events and the YAAC contributed by designing pollinators as a part of a community hand-painted mural.
After a successful start in the summer, Kashif decided to keep the council going into the school year and do an autumn term.
“We did a couple cool events, but I realized that this council should continue, especially with getting people to know about [it],” said Kashif.
In the fall semester, they opted for fewer meetings to accommodate the students’ busy schedules. They currently meet twice a month.
During the meetings, the group of teenagers typically discusses upcoming events and roles. They occasionally have workdays where they create murals or other pieces of art.
Some of the roles include community outreach, an event planner and a social media person.
Robert McLaughlin Gallery CEO Aliz Voz said she was “very excited” when Kashif initially pitched the idea. “It is a very hard group to [connect] with. So, for them to come to the gallery and asking to engage was just fabulous,” she said.
Voz said art plays a big role in students’ education and in their sense of community. It connects them to people outside of their school scene.
“I think it’s honestly a beautiful way to introduce them into a space that I hope that they will feel they can grow into,” said Voz.
She hopes the students feel welcomed and start to understand what kinds of art pathways are available to them through this council.
Currently, the group is working to create a teen event where they will be teaching their peers how to create a piece of art.