An invitation went out today for an art exhibit entitled MOVING HOME for Thursday August 4, 2016 from 5:30-8:00 pm at Splintered Craft in Whitehorse.
MOVING HOME is a youth arts-based research project that explores the effects of multiple moves within the child welfare system and experiences of homelessness. Young adults in Whitehorse and Dawson City have participated in this project over the last week.
Amelia Merhar, the project coordinator and former youth in care is a Masters student at York University. The project asks youth “what do you have to say?” and youth are encouraged to express themselves in a variety of mediums. “I encourage people to come celebrate and take in some amazing art by emerging artists from Whitehorse and Dawson City” says Merhar, “Listen with your eyes (and ears) to what youth have to say!”
The Yukon based project has been partially sponsored by the Yukon Child and Youth Advocate Office and Splintered Craft Art Studio. The first phase of the research was completed in Toronto, Ontario in June 2016, sponsored by SKETCH Working Arts and the Ontario Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth.
The Child and Youth Advocate Office is an independent office of the Legislative Assembly with the primary role of promoting the rights and interests of children and youth receiving or eligible to receive services provided by Yukon Government.
“Art can be a powerful tool for youth to share their experiences without words” comments Annette King, Yukon’s Child and Youth Advocate, “adult decision makers can learn just as much from research that focuses on emotional expression and experience as they can from statistics and strategies”.
Merhar will be continuing her studies over the next year and is planning to present research in the Yukon once it is complete.
Contact: Annette King, Child and Youth Advocate
Child and Youth Advocate Office,
867-456-5575
annette.king@ycao.ca
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