Youth Action Coalition mural unveiling in Amherst

One of my focuses at left-click is to make the store a participating member in the wonderful Western Massachusetts community around it. We've been active in the local Chamber of Commerce, addressing people's tech questions on Twitter and participating in a number of great community events. So I was really excited when I heard about the opportunity to support Youth Action Coalition's new mural in Amherst. I knew very little about the mural, or of Youth Action Coalition themselves, but when I heard that members "are youth from the Amherst area" who were working on a mural that "addresses the contentious political atmosphere brought on by the national budget deficit and our involvement in numerous wars" I was instantly sold. I signed left-click up to be a supporter and a few days later was at the unveiling of the mural during the event "STEPPING OUT: a multimedia art exhibit and mural unveiling" in Amherst. Here are some pictures!

Here's the crowd at the Burnett Gallery for an art show of works from Youth Action Coalition's various programs before the mural unveiling.

Some photography work on the walls. I believe this is from YAC's GirlsEyeView program.

Here are some familiar sights- some work from YAC's E'Town Rising program, shot right around the corner from our office on Main St in Northampton.

Here's the design for the mural, which I believe was specifically created by YAC's Get Up Get Down program, alongside some local publicity for the event.

Some photos of Get Up Get Down participants creating the mural.

I purchased this painting, created through the GirlsEyeView program by artist Katelyn Lussier, who after being asked to pose for this photo immediately struck the pose you see above!

A young purveyor of the arts!

Here, a blurry Stacey Lennard talks to the crowd about the exhibition, the mural and Youth Action Coalition. As I understand it, the Coalition is an umbrella for a number of different youth-focused programs. One of the goals of the event we were currently at was to break down the barriers of communication between youth and adults, which is an issue that never really occurred to me but certainly exists.

After the speech and Q&A we headed out to see the mural be unveiled.

The crowd waiting outside of Amherst Cinema, who I believe played a part in allowing the mural to be posted.

The mural is unveiled! Here are some close-ups:

Top left. This was said to represent all people pouring good things into the world.

The middle. Where the positive things meet the negative.

The right side. Some negativity!

I don't want to speak too much about what the mural was supposed to represent, but you can hear what the artists themselves have to say on this plaque, located next to the mural (click the image to see a larger version.)

You know it.

Seeing the Youth Action Coalition in action was a seriously heartwarming experience. To me, it seemed to create a space and atmosphere where young students with a lot to say were encouraged to fully express themselves. And what's more, they seemed comfortable doing it. Fostering that in teenagers is no easy feat, and the Youth Action Coalition deserves all the support and attention for their cause as we can give them!