On Saturday May 4^th, our Adobe Youth Voices team had the opportunity to exhibit some of the media pieces at the Art Fusion Festival in Toronto. Art Fusion is an annual, non-profit community arts event held at Toronto Mel Lastman Square, attracting nearly 3,000 visitors. The event provides an open space for artists of all types to come together and showcase their talents.

Art Fusion provided our team with the unique opportunity for young artists in our Adobe Youth Voices Program to exhibit their talent and creativity to a large Torontonian audience. On this beautiful sunny day, TakingITGlobal was able to deliver an outdoor exhibit, featuring some of the many brilliant final projects created by our youth participants. We had an array of photographs and graphic designs created by youth from South Africa, Uruguay, Egypt, India, Bonaire, and many more.

In addition to the media pieces created by our youth artists, we had a special contribution made to our exhibit by the Executive Director of TakingITGlobal, Jennifer Corriero. Jennifer did a live painting during the second portion of the event. The art piece is called "Fragmented Action" and was a contribution to her existing poem and collection of paintings titled "How Does Change Happen?". 

The turnout at Art Fusion was outstanding – people of all ages were amazed by the work that our youth participants have created throughout their time in Adobe Youth Voices. In some instances, individuals expressed their curiosity about the media pieces, asking questions about what inspired the youth to create the projects they did. One gentleman stated that he was “very impressed that young people are taking the time to raise awareness about issues they are most passionate about and very relevant amongst all societies”, referencing the HIV Campaign poster created by a participant in Uruguay.

The media projects covered various issues ranging from HIV Awareness, animal abuse, heritage and culture, woman’s rights, and bullying just to name a few. People also had the opportunity to learn more about TakingITGlobal and the Adobe Youth Voices Program through promo material that we shared with throughout the duration of the event.

Alongside the Adobe Youth Voices exhibit there were various artist and art-based activities at the event including musicians, stilt walkers, painters, live performances, and crafters. 

 

All in all, we were thrilled to have been given the opportunity to have our first outdoor exhibit of the year, giving exposure to our incredibly talented group of young people and all the wonderful pieces that they have created. This will be the first of many summer events to come and we look forward to more opportunities to showcase Adobe Youth Voices. 

A big congratulation goes out to all of the wonderful youth who have contributed their brilliant art pieces to us throughout their participation in the Adobe Youth Voices Program. We hope that all of our youth continue to shine through with their talent and creativity. A big thank you to the Adobe Youth Voices Project Assistant, Elizabeth Lartey, for confidently going out there into the event and informing people about Adobe Youth Voices and encouraging them to learn more about our youth arists and their projects. 

Photography Tip: Get down and dirty

I love photography. I often avoid digital photography and opt for a more traditional, film photography. Think of polaroid cameras, or old-style film SLR cameras. I am a sucker for light leaks, blurred edges, and even scuff marks or smudges on my photos.  

When I first started shooting with film, I would often make the mistake of holding my camera at my chest or eye level.  Big mistake.  Although this is the most comfortable or natural position, it’s not the most creative position.  I want to be able to print unique and impressive photographs.  This position wasn’t going to do it for me.

Everyone else is doing it, and if you’re interested in taking photos that are going to impress an audience then it’s time to get down and dirty.

I’d like to share with you my best photography tip:  Get down and dirty!

Capture photographs from the lowest vantage point possible: low down on the ground!  

Here are some easy tips to get you started:

1) Get your camera as close to the ground as possible.
2) You can even try flipping your camera upside down!
3) Place the focus on the ground closest to you to create a beautiful extreme depth.

Content written by: Roxanne Rahim - Adobe Youth Voices Project Assistant
Photographs taken by: Roxanne Rahim

“It’s not possible! These people out there live in a fantasy world”

Vivian and I had the pleasure of visiting Paula D’Hati from Friends in Trouble, one of our Adobe Youth Voices partner in Toronto. Friends in Trouble (FIT) is a non-profit organization that believes the lived experience of individuals has the power to affect change and challenge the impacts of poverty in their lives. FIT provides access to resources, create opportunities, and lead processes that impact them.

 

In 2011 Friends in Trouble partnered with us here at TakingITGlobal to take part in the Adobe Youth Voices Program and began incorporating it into their current programming as a means to achieve their mission and vision by harnessing the creativity of their youth.

This is Friends in Trouble second year participating in Adobe Youth Voices and we are looking forward to an exciting program year. We are hoping to visit them again very soon to witness first hand the workshops and training sessions they run for their youth participants.

We encourage all of our partners to get in contact with any participating organization and to network together, if not face to face, at least virtually.There are many opportunities out there that await each and everyone one you. It is just a matter of taking hold of the opportunity and using it to your advantage!

Between September 3-7, 2012 Francisco Pereira had the opportunity to represent TakingITGlobal alongside Miguel Salinas, senior manager of Adobe Youth Voices, in Mexico City for the Aspire Awards Prize Patrol. The main goal of the Prize Patrol was to visit Puerta Joven. Juventud, Cultura y Desarrollo and their youth who took part in the Aspire Awards earlier this year and won first place.

 

Puerta Joven. Juventud, Cultura y Desarrollo is a non-governmental organization that harnesses new technologies to educate young individuals about the culture and arts of their community who may otherwise be restricted as a result of social exclusion. The young artists at Puerta Joven were able to produce a winning piece called: Cambio Jovenes. It illustrates the ability of youth to possess the power to change the world they live in by merely desiring it.

An award ceremony for the Aspire Award winners took place at a school where Puerta Joven is implementing the Adobe Youth Voices program. It was a successful event that brought joy and inspiration not only to the youth but the educators, youth workers, and government officials who were present.

Francisco and Miguel took advantage of their time in Mexico by visiting our other partners in the Adobe Youth Voices program, Fundacion Proacceso and Espolea. This was a great opportunity to meet with the educators face to face and to converse about their goals for the current cycle of the program and to get a better understanding of what they hope to achieve for the youth with their on-going participation.

The potential for future youth-oriented projects in collaboration with iEarn arose as Francisco and Miguel had a chance to meet with the group while in Mexico. iEarn is a global non-profit organization whose mission ties in nicely with TakingITGlobal and the Adobe Youth Voices Program as they encourage teachers and youth to harness the power technology to enhance learning. It was great to seeing the youth in action during this visit. Below is photograph of a young boy filming a stop motion piece.

Another exciting part of the visit to Mexico was Francisco’s ability to have on big meeting with all of our Mexico partners, giving all of them an opportunity to connect and network after months of virtual interactions. It was great to see everyone getting right into it and discussing the different ways they could collaborate their programs, allowing them to reach out to a wider audience of youth in both Mexico city and its bordering communities.

This week was a definite success for both TakingITGlobal and its partnering sites involved in the Adobe Youth Voices Program. It was an incredible opportunity to meet the youth in Mexico City. To witness the powerful and positive impact the program is having on their lives is an illustration that all of our hard work as educators and youth workers pays off tremendously in the end. We look forward to seeing our partners in Mexico City very soon. We hope this inspires all of our partners from all around the world to connect with each other, to build a strong network of youth and to continue providing youth with the tools, resources, and support they need to become the voices of tomorrow.