NEW FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS YOUTH ARTISTS

ENCORE YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL TO SHOWCASE 2-D AND 3-D ARTS, MOVEMENT

By Melissa Jameson.

The diverse talents of local young artists are the focus of an upcoming youth-led celebration of music inspired 2-D and 3-D arts and movement.

The Encore Youth Arts Festival grew out of a project aimed at providing opportunities for youth to participate in workshops in various mediums led by Revelstoke artists.

“I’ve always had this dream of highlighting youth art in our community,” said Kenley Knock, co-owner and creative director of The Studio Dance & Wellness. “Knowing so many dancers in this community, a lot of dancers are also visual artists. We had one of our young dancers highlighted at LUNA this year. I thought why aren’t there more young artists in LUNA? So, we [Knock and Tanis Baer] started this project.”

Young artists were given the opportunity to take part in workshops to create a variety of projects ranging from carving, jewellery making, animation, and watercolour. Then, Baer came up with the idea of adding a musical element.

“She had all of the students who were participating pick lyrics, music, a poem, something that inspired them and that snowballed into these projects,” said Knock, who is also community dance connector with Arts Revelstoke.

That’s when Pearl Pratico got involved.

“I heard about this project and I look forward to LUNA every single year, it’s my favourite night because it highlights community and art and I think those are two super influential things in my life. There’s so many talented youth artists in town,” Pratico said.

A Grade 12 student at Revelstoke Secondary School, Pratico has taken on creative direction of Encore as part of her capstone project. A requirement for graduation, the BC Ministry of Education defines the capstone as “a rigorous learning opportunity that allows [students] to reflect and share in personally meaningful ways as they demonstrate knowledge, competencies, and passions while integrating personal interests and strengths with preferred future possibilities.”

“Creative direction is something I’ve always wanted to do, and it’s really cool to have an idea, have a vision and be able to accomplish that all before I’m 18,” said Pratico.

There was one small problem, however. The original grant funding for the project had run out. So, Knock approached Daniel Bhattacharya, executive artistic director of Arts Revelstoke.

“He was like, absolutely we want to do this. So, through Arts Revelstoke and through community donations we’ve been able to make this happen, which is incredible.”

Pratico is also creating three dance pieces for the festival. One of those is a group piece that explores the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.”

Pratico is hopeful the festival will become an annual event. “That’s why we’ve come up with the name Encore, because we want this to be continuous. That if I’m not working on this, that some other student will take this on and make this bigger and better.”

The Encore Youth Arts Festival takes place at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre on Thursday, March 9 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dance performances will take place in the theatre on the hour, and patrons can enjoy music and art in the lobby throughout the evening. Those planning to attend are asked to bring a non-perishable food or cash donation for the Community Connections Food Bank. Follow @encoreartsrevelstoke for more details.