Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 7: Collective Identity in Greater Forest Lawn

Program Description:

Weeks 6 and 7 will be a combined week where youth will be focusing on collective identity and what it means to live in the Greater Forest Lawn area. During week 6, youth will receive a small panel that they will begin to design that expresses what it means to be a part of this community. Focusing on the concepts of home, school, and play, youth will begin to create a panel. Week 7 will be a continuation of this project, where youth will either begin painting their panel or finish painting their panel, and then the panels will be placed together to create a small collective art piece to wrap up the 7-week program.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 6: Collective Identity in Greater Forest Lawn

Program Description:

Weeks 6 and 7 will be a combined week where youth will be focusing on collective identity and what it means to live in the Greater Forest Lawn area. During week 6, youth will receive a small panel that they will begin to design that expresses what it means to be a part of this community. Focusing on the concepts of home, school, and play, youth will begin to create a panel. Week 7 will be a continuation of this project, where youth will either begin painting their panel or finish painting their panel, and then the panels will be placed together to create a small collective art piece to wrap up the 7-week program.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 5: Friendship Bracelets

Program Description:

Week 5 will have the main focus on storytelling through friendship bracelets. Youth will create a jewelry piece of their choice with yarn using colours that tell a story. During this art activity, we will be having discussions about what community means to us. As well as considering where we reside, what land we are on, and how many of us have similar experiences and stories. At the end, the youth will have the opportunity to either give away their art to someone in the circle or take it home and give it to someone who has impacted their lives and experiences.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 4: Exploring Home

Program Description:

In Week 4, youth will explore the concepts of how clay and other mediums are able to express identity and emotion. Youth will focus on using colours, shapes, and textures to express what home means to them. Where youth grew up, whether it be in a different country or Calgary, everyone has a different interpretation of what home means to them. This will also give youth the opportunity to discover where their happy place is, what makes them feel comfortable, and how that relates to their identity and experiences.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 3: Visual Storytelling

Program Description:

Week 3 will focus on storytelling through writing and art, with a focus on life perspectives, challenges, success, etc. The youth will have the opportunity to write a poem, short story, letter, etc. and then create an art piece based on what they wrote. Youth will be encouraged to share what they wrote with other youth, with the focus on creating a brave space to share their identity and perspective throughout their lives. This is an abstract piece that is open-ended and can be in any medium of their choice. The main goal is for youth to have an understanding of how stories shape who we are as individuals and impact others through how we perceive and identify with the world.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 2: Collective Identity

Program Description:

In Week 2, we will be exploring what identity means to us as a collective in a space of co-creation. This week, all youth will have the opportunity to participate in an art piece where they will take turns creating a drawing that expresses what identity means on an individual level. The objective of this week is to be able to work as a team to create a cohesive piece while still including personal expression and positionality.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 1: Fabric Kites

Program Description:

Week 1 will focus on success and resilience. Each youth will be creating kites of fabric in a way that expresses their identity and where they see themselves in the future. This project is open-ended, and they may use any medium they want that speaks to them. The kites are a representation of how the environment may affect our lives and our vision of what success looks like, but through resilience and perseverance, we are able to achieve anything we want to despite the obstacles in our way

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 10: Community & Connection

Program Description:

Week 10 will be the wrap-up week of the last ten weeks of the program, and youth will have the opportunity to express the ideas of community, togetherness, friendship, and connection through collective art pieces. At the end of the program, each youth will take home a canvas created by all of the youth in the space. Each youth will contribute to each piece of art in a way that shows creativity and expression. The main objective of this week is to show gratitude and have an overall takeaway where youth feel impacted and continue wanting to learn about social justice issues and express themselves creatively outside of the program.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 9: Creating 3D Art

Program Description:

Week 9 will be a play off of Week 8, where instead of drawing, youth will now be able to do a similar activity through sculpture. Youth will collectively create a 3D art piece using random objects and materials such as tinfoil, plastic spoons, forks, cups, etc. to express mental health and what it means to them. This is meant to be an abstract piece and will include a debrief on what each element represents and why it is important. Mental health is perceived differently by each individual, and this activity’s objective is to express how we all experience mental health differently, but we can also create a community together through our journeys and experiences.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 8: Exploring Mental Health as a Collective

Program Description:

Week 8 will be a prep activity for week 9, where we will be exploring what mental health means to us as a collective in a space of co-creation. This week, all youth will have the opportunity to participate in an art piece where they will take turns creating a drawing that expresses what mental health means on an individual level. The objective of this week is to be able to work as a team to create a cohesive piece while still including personal expression and positionality. How can mental health be expressed through art (positive or negative)? What does "mental health" mean? Why is it important?

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 7: Identity Kites

Program Description:

Week 7 will focus on success and resilience. Each youth will be creating kites of fabric in a way that expresses their identity and where they see themselves in the future. This project is open-ended, and they may use any medium they want that speaks to them. The kites are a representation of how the environment may affect our lives and our vision of what success looks like, but through resilience and perseverance, we are able to achieve anything we want to despite the obstacles in our way. What challenges might bring us down? What helps lift us up to be successful? Keeping in mind that success means something different for everyone

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 6: Exploring Connection through String

Program Description:

In week 6, youth will use string or yarn to tell stories and establish connectedness between themselves and other individuals, as well as the idea of being pulled down by systems and institutions (the string component). Youth will use string throughout their art in a medium of their choice and may choose to use the string to create the piece or include it in some form, such as layering. This project is meant to be abstract and open-ended. The main objective is to explore the ideas around systemic institutions and the struggles that may arise from them, including personal barriers relating to identity and self-expression. Many institutions affect individuals in similar ways, which is a way of building community and the feeling of support.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 5: Storytelling Through Art Mediums

Program Description:

Week 5 will focus on storytelling through writing and art, with a focus on life perspectives, challenges, success, etc. The youth will have the opportunity to write a poem, short story, letter, etc., and then create an art piece based on what they wrote. Youth will be encouraged to share what they wrote with other youth, with the focus on creating a brave space to share their identity and perspective throughout their lives. This is an abstract piece that is open-ended and can be in any medium of their choice. The main goal is for youth to have an understanding of how stories shape who we are as individuals and impact others through how we perceive and identify with the world.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 4: Exploring Change

Program Description:

Week 4 will have the main focus on how change affects our well-being, either in a positive or negative light. Change can be scary and isn’t always linear. Youth will be using tea bags and water colour to create an abstract piece that is open-ended and focuses on the concepts of change over time. They will have the option of picking a specific time they experienced a change in the past and what that meant to them, or a change that will happen in the near future. Layering images on top of the fluid artwork will be encouraged and explored in order to gain a thorough understanding of how change is unpredictable but manageable.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 3: Identity Collage

Program Description:

Week 3 will focus on exploring identity, emotions, and mental health, specifically what areas of our bodies hold certain emotions. Youth will explore the concepts of collage and layering. They will be instructed to create a portrait of themselves, with the understanding that they may focus on one specific area of their body or a full portrait to express what emotions they feel and where specific emotions are held. One youth, for example, may discover that they express happiness or love through their heart while carrying stress in their heads and shoulders. How does emotion travel through our bodies? And what significance does it hold? are the two main questions for this week.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming Week 2: Abstract Layered Emotions

Program Description:

In Week 2, we will be exploring the concepts of emotions, mental health, and well-being. What types of emotions do we feel, and how can they be portrayed in both an abstract or metaphorical way as well as in a literal form? Youth will engage with the concept of layering art and focus specifically on shapes and colours. What do colours and shapes represent? How are they being perceived? The main goal is to have an understanding of how emotions and feelings can be viewed differently by each individual in both an abstract and literal sense. All emotions are valued and can build a sense of community within spaces.

Forest Lawn Arts Programming

Week 1: Abstract Portraits

Program Description:

Week 1 will have the main focus on creating a safe and brave space where all youth are encouraged to share their thoughts, passions, and emotions while also learning how to build a community where we are able to co-create and learn together. This week, we will dive into a portrait activity where youth will explore abstract techniques while drawing portraits of other youth in the space in short increments. The goal is to push youth outside of their comfort zone and get comfortable with how art is produced and observed, learning that all art is beautiful and welcome in the space, and it doesn’t need to be perfect.