Weekend Vibes And Final Thoughts, Saturday March 7th
In the morning, we took the opportunity to walk down the street to visit the Camberwell College of Art’s galleries to check out their current exhibitions, before we split ways. They had some excellent art in their three gallery spaces from both professional artists and students alike.
Abbas Zahedi, How to Make a How From a Why?
Soha Salem, Zoorkhaneh (House of Strength)
Davinia-Ann Robinson, Earth, Body
Zines by Big Family Press
Chai Kamrai, MEMES But it’s All Me
Later, Alia enjoyed visiting her English cousin and being toured around the areas of Hampstead and Camden, while Stephanie continued enjoying art and touring around Peckham, checking our the London Theatre and stocking up on as many sequinned fabrics as she could carry home.
Alia and cousin
In the evening, we had a chance to catch up with former Antyx staff member Tony Tran who is currently in school in London, expanding his skills in youth work and still (despite his busy schedule) keeping up with the London Voguing scene. It was good to see a familiar face and catch up with an old friend. We checked out a place called Peckham Levels that was 6 levels of creatives, artists, food and more repurposed from an old parkade. It was an excellent hub of creativity in the middle of a very creative area of Peckham filled with small art galleries, non-profits, artist run centres and more. It reminded us a little of the good old days of Art Central and how it would be fantastic to have a creative hub like this back in Calgary.
Good times with Tony Tran
Colourful stairs at Peckham Levels
Overall, after our week in London we enjoyed seeing how different youth agencies are using the arts to make change and engage teens in similar ways across the world. We gained some new ideas and made some new global connections and contacts that could result in future collaborations. It also seemed like the youth wherever we were, are dealing with similar things. The topics the youth are passionate about were the same as the ones in Calgary and usually range around school, the future, the environment, gender, identity, mental health, inclusion/exclusion/discrimination and the pressures to succeed as first and second-generation immigrants. It just goes to show that these are issues that the world is currently working with on a global scale and that youth are passionate and willing to play a role in creating a more equitable world.