Faces of Antyx: Emine
This Friday we’ll be featuring one of our graduated youths, Emine!
Emine started her journey with Antyx when she was in high school after seeing a presentation and the different design and sculpture projects Antyx had to offer. While it was tricky balancing her photography and acting hobbies with school, she found her safe space through Antyx. Meeting other youths who also struggled to fit into a specific academic or creative category helped Emine realize that “You don't really have to put yourself into a category if you find that you don’t fit into that category. Right?”
Antyx helped Emine find her community of unconditional support through shared experiences and meeting facilitators like Dwight and Alia who made the time and effort to always check in on her and make sure she was taking care of herself.
“We all shared that same sentiment that we had to prioritize school, but we were also these creative people who had to make art to feel happy. So once I found that there were so many more people like me in a place like Antyx I became more accepting of myself.”
She faced barriers when it came to establishing her identity between Turkish and Canadian, but knowing that other youths faced similar struggles helped her through it.
“It’s okay to create your own safe space. It’s also fine to just not belong anywhere because that space could be your safe space.”
Since she was in junior high, Emine knew that she wanted to be an architect and participated in Antyx’s sculpture project at the Genesis centre, it was only reinforced. While in university, she realized that she needed to find a balance between her studies and making time for her art. Knowing that she had to take care of her creative side, she created a website, Instagram art page and even a YouTube channel documenting her experiences and experiments!
Her unique technique of criticizing human behaviour is her main source of inspiration when it comes to her artwork. Reflecting on current news and critiquing the system that often fails so many, Emine finds a way to incorporate it all into moving pieces.
When she encounters creativity blocks, she analyzes her emotions to solve why she’s feeling that art block which can also help to inspire a new piece!
Currently, she is working on an art book collaboration with her friend based on the theme of human behaviour. Emine is illustrating her friend’s poems, and they hope to publish it for next year!
If you’re interested in seeing Emine’s artwork, make sure to check our her social platforms!
Instagram: @eymen.arts
A unique art piece done by Emine