Rustad Galleria – September 24th to October 25th, 2021

Youth & Mentors 

MakerLab Youth Immersion was a ten-month program that engaged youth in active learning of new skills and technologies. Five youth, ages 15 – 20, were mentored from September 2020 through June 2021. During the first seven months of the program the youth were taught by local artists, Elders, craftspeople, and Makers. They completed modules in Northwest Coast design, carving, woodturning, drum making, beading, 3D printing, laser engraving, clay and fine arts.

Once all of the mentorship modules were complete, our youth Makers started working on their own independent projects. The art included in the exhibition reflects a very small part of the program. It is the progress that these young artists have made, the flexibility and perseverance they showed, the connections that were made, and each of their unique personalities and interests that have shaped this sixth and final year of the MakerLab Youth Immersion program.

We could not be more thrilled with the results of this program: the sharing of culture and intergenerational learning that has taken place, the commitment and initiative shown during the completion of the projects and the lasting bonds that the mentors and Two Rivers Gallery have made with this wonderful group of youth Makers.

Thanks to the Government of BC, the BC Arts Council, the RBC Foundation, the Prince George Community Foundation, the City of Prince George and our MakerLab partner, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, for their support of the program.

Congratulations to Skyler Abou, Thatcher Hansen, Megan Jackson, Jared Seifert, and Habit Wheeler for all of their hard work and dedication to the program.

Thank you to Mark Barfoot Jr., Darren Ditto, Laurier Duperron, Jennifer Pighin, Cat Sivertsen, Ken Turner, Roanne Whitticase, Crystal Behn-Dettieh and Twyla Exner for the inspiration and enthusiasm that they brought to the program. Thanks as well to Aisha Hamis, former Public Programmer who started off the year with our youth and arranged mentors and modules.