“When you display this,” artist Crystal Maxwell explains to the 20-or-so children ranging from grades 4 to 8, “they’re going to know you’re a fantastic artist, but also who you are as a person.
“It’s a great feeling.”
Maxwell teaches at the Bradford Art School and helps students express their feelings on canvas — a skill she’s using in a series of youth empowerment expressions workshops presented by the fledgling organization, Youth Empowerment Collective, through sponsorship mainly provided by Canadian Tire Bradford.
The kids are each given a goody bag of art supplies. Be creative, Maxwell instructs them. Use some of the paints and pastels in the bag, she adds, encouraging them to also cut words out of magazine articles or add string for hair.
And if you’d like to draw an animal, she says in response to a child’s question, go ahead. There’s no wrong way.
The workshop developed from the idea that youth should be celebrated, and that they should celebrate themselves through a youth empowerment day.
“It’s really about creating these intentional moments to celebrate our young people and help them to learn about themselves and celebrate themselves,” says Francesca Licursi, founder of the Youth Empowerment Collective.
The workshop, she explains, provides the kids with the tools they need to design their own self-portraits as well as offering information about self-empowerment. On May 4, on the first youth empowerment day, the portraits will go on display at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library on Holland Street for a two-week exhibition.
The date, of course, is intentional, riffing off the informal commemorative day made famous through a line from the Star Wars movie that has morphed into the phrase: “May the Fourth be with you.” Licursi hopes to see similar events adopted in communities across the country in the future.
The Youth Empowerment Collective was launched in December and now has a core of 40 volunteers across Ontario. The idea is to equip young people with the tools and skills that will help them become contributing members of society.
Licursi points to research indicating that those who learn kindness early on have higher rates of graduating, become self-supporting and developing into leaders. She sees a future where all young people feel a sense of belonging and being safe.
“There’s a whole science behind kindness” based on social-emotional learning, she says. “It comes down to believing and loving in yourself and having that sense of belonging.
“Kids that are empowered, empower other kids.”
Bullying, she adds, is about taking away someone else’s power. She believes that the child that is empowered won’t have the need to take power away from another.
The organization aims to create an empowerment award which would honour community programs that foster a sense of belonging for young people.
The long-term goal of the organization is to create a certification program for community organizations like sport groups that strive to honour and empower children.
The whole initiative excites 10-year-old Scarlette Gerace.
“I want to have fun and help inspire younger kids,” says Gerace, who also helps out the group on social media. “I know there’s a lot of kids who don’t have fun things to do. I know I’m very privileged and lucky to come into a family that loves me and appreciates me.
“I want to make sure that kids can have all these nice things that I’m allowed to have so they can grow up to be great, aspiring adults.”
Then there’s the fun aspect, she adds, and the chance to make friends.
Her dad, Sebastian Gerace, loves the idea of an event and organization that helps children feel like they belong and that gives them a sense of empowerment.
There’s also that chance for those, who, like his daughter, want to do more.
“She genuinely wants to help make the world a better place an even though she’s a kid herself, she really loves to inspire other kids.”
The organization is hosting another workshop on April 21 for youth from Grade 4 right to high school. For more information, contact Licursi at [email protected].
