Faces of Antyx: Stephanie
Stephanie
Continuing on our staff Feature Friday, it’s the woman who’s always on a mission, Stephanie! Stephanie is our Community Engagement Coordinator and we’re so excited to share her story!
As a daughter of a refugee and a feminist, and grand-daughter to a female Albertan “Maverick,” Stephanie has been passionate about helping others and advocating for change since she was very young. She became a facilitator of youth advocacy and female empowerment groups at just ten years old by co-facilitating other youth groups, then taking on her own unit(s) as a primary leader in high school and university. During this time, she was also a performer with Calgary Young Peoples Theatre, school groups, and created a theatre group at 17 years old called “Mousetrap Theatre Productions.” Stephanie graduated with a BFA in Drawing from the Alberta University of the Arts. After completing her degree, she went on to teach youth in South Korea then acquired a job in the Calgary non-profit world and has been there ever since. For 7 years prior to Antyx, Stephanie coordinated and facilitated a Civic Engagement program that engaged women and girls and their families to be advocates for change. While there she helped over 15,000 newcomers to Canada become more involved in their communities and trained over 100 volunteers (mostly women) to become facilitators, activists and community engagers. She also taught over 100 women basic graphic design skills to help them get meaningful employment and market themselves more efficiently. Over her lifetime, she has supervised many staff and thousands of volunteers to become facilitators, place-makers, community activists, special event activators, and change makers. Over the years Stephanie has been an active volunteer for Girl Guides of Canada, Afrikadey! Arts and Culture Society, AdRodeo inspiring others, advocating for change and celebrating creativity of artists from all backgrounds. She has also volunteered for multiple political campaigns and is currently on the performance team for Lotus Bellydance. In addition to her work at Antyx, she is a practicing Bellydancer, community activator and advocate, Visual Artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. Stephanie is devoted to making social change in Calgary by fostering community engagement and advocacy in marginalized populations. She is passionate about empowering youth with the opportunity to share their voice and make a difference.
Q: What has been your experience like working with Antyx?
A: I have worked with Antyx since August 2015 and have collaborated with them just a little longer than that. I love the work that I do with Antyx as I have always been passionate about empowering youth to be involved and make a difference in their communities. Before I knew about Antyx, I had never considered using art for social change very much. I had spent years mentoring youth and adults to become civically engaged and how to change their communities through advocacy, but I had never really considered how I personally could bring my art practice and experience into this. It was after a session with them in summer 2015, that I got first-hand experience with the Antyx method and I was sold. That was it... I had drunk the Kool-aid, so to speak, and I knew deep in my heart, that I MUST work for them. I have absolutely LOVED my experience with Antyx. Each day is different and we are always coming up with new projects, new ways of doing things, and finding new ways to challenge our creativity. I feel like nothing at Antyx is ever stagnant and if we ever want to experiment with a new concept or idea, we can. I have met some of the most amazing people while here though our staff members, artists, youth and volunteers. The staff at Antyx inspire me every day to be a better person, artist and human being and it starts from the top down with Richard being an amazing human being and leader, and setting the tone for the whole workplace. In my whole career have never been at an agency where people have so much respect for each other, the youth they serve and with every fibre of their beings, they are dedicated to changing the world and making a difference. I am definitely in my Ikigai place.
Q: Is there a memory that stands out to you?
A: I have so many memories from Antyx it is hard to pick one. Of course, it's not always the good times... I can remember the projects that challenged us or we failed at. Like the time Jena and I spent a week in cold September temperatures, completely soaked and chilled to the bone, pressure washing portraits off of Artbox then repainting the building, since the art had bonded to the paint that was there. Or the time that we did a big install at the park for whispers in the grass and someone stole our plants hours later. Or the frustration when we kept having weeds popping up in this park, had re-seeded the grass twice, things got broken and graffitied and it was just not working for us. But we always learned from these experiences and it also taught our youth that projects don't always go perfectly.
Some of the best times however, are the times after projects go well and then you can cut the positive energy of accomplishment with a knife. I absolutely love the feeling after every showcase like "Plant the Seed", "Melontopia", "Let's Talk Consent" or our 5 "Culture Shock's" where we all breathed a content sign of completion and the youth were over the moon with joy of their success. These are the times I just like to sit back and watch them celebrate after many hours, days and months of hard work.
Or when you have had a kid struggling with something all year, and then you get to see the moment it finally "clicks" for them and they are finally in their element. Or when you see a teen come into Antyx and they are shy, unconfident and don't believe in themselves and then little by little the magic happens and you see them come out of their shell and flourish into the wonderful human they were meant to be. When you reflect on it a few years later, and they are still with us, but not even a shadow of their old self remains.
Or last year when we took all the teens from all our programs to "Cirque Du Soliel" and after they all came outside and were so filled with joy and inspiration for the event, that they just had to dance and started an impromptu Cypher with everyone involved. We have few of these times where we can see all our youth together and this was one night that just felt magical and no-one wanted to go home.
These are the moments that far outweigh the pitfalls and remind me of why I do what I do.
Q: What is your favourite thing about your career?
I love seeing the change in people and how a youth may feel a little lost or without a purpose, and just by being a friendly face they can see week to seek, or by planting a seed of inspiration, you see them grow and develop and transform. The Mission, Vision and Values aren't just a thing on the wall of Antyx that no one looks at or people see once and forget about. I feel each and every artist at Antyx and friend of Antyx, lives and breathes these values and believes them deep in their soul's. My favourite part is that I get to surround myself with people like this on a daily basis that are genuinely trying to change the world. They inspire the youth, they inspire each other and they challenge me to be a better person.
Q: How did you find your passion?
A: You can say that maybe I was "born" to do this. My great grandmother was the first female police constable in Canada and worked mainly with young immigrant ladies coming to Edmonton. They were often roped into "undesirable circumstances" like prostitution right after they arrived on the train and she helped them stand on their own feet. My Canadian grandfather was a life-long volunteer and philanthropist, and both him and my grandmother were such caring and loving individuals to every-one around them. My Hungarian grandparents have had to work hard and hustle for everything in their lives. They grew up in Nazi occupied Hungary and a fascist government and then lived under the following oppression of communism. They escaped the country with not much more than the clothes on their backs, then like seeds in the wind, got deposited in rural Edmonton, not speaking a lick of English and had to make their way. My mother is a feminist and has worked in Mental Health for many years, and my father is a refugee, inventor and entrepreneur creating many Businesses over the years. They have all taught me to work hard, to not accept things for how they are, and that I have the power to make change in my world around me. They have taught me empathy and love, the importance of civic involvement, advocacy work and helping others, especially those who are struggling or marginalized.
I felt for a long time after I had attended art school that I just wasn't in the "right place", not successful and compared myself to the successes of my peers. I had started early in youth work, then was emersed in the fine art world, back to work as a teacher, then facilitating for new immigrants. I never really had it all connected before and I felt lost. It is only in hindsight that I finally see that all these things brought me to where I am and allowed me to get all the skills to really follow my passion to motivate youth, use my creativity, and use art as a tool for social change and advocacy.
Q: If you could give your younger self some words of advice, what would they be?
A: Not everyone's path is the same and just like the best adventures, the best life paths are not easy. There are ups and down's and sometimes a lot of struggle, fog, detours, backtracks or a big patch of mud. Don't worry, you will find yourself and the path that you were meant to be on. Everything is happening this way for a reason, and even though you may not see the "why" now, it will come. Just keep on doing what you are best at and eventually you will find your purpose.
Q: What was the biggest opposing force that you encountered on your creative journey?
A: Myself.
Whenever I didn't believe in myself, didn't think of myself as "enough" or questioned my worth... that's when I would slow myself down or get stuck in a "fog" that I had to battle. For anyone reading this.... You are enough. You are made exactly as you were meant to be, and you don't need to compare yourself or question your worth, based on what you see of others. Everyone is fighting their own battle and we don't always see the difficult parts they are going through to get there. You are enough and don't ever lose faith in yourself.
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: During Covid, I have been amping up my dance practice and also working on a lot of costuming for the time we can perform again. I have been trying to work my way through some areas in my practice where I am weak and they need more work and learning more about my dance form from other teachers. I am also trying to get to the bottom of my huge pile of UFO's (unfinished objects and art projects)