Home Sweet Home
Three-dimensional art by Holly Stephen depicting a miniature landscape in the clouds | Photo: Courtesy of Union Gallery staff
Youth Artists + Authors
Main Space
June 1 – June 22, 2024
Curated by Re Parsons
Abbie Miolée, Angela Ge, Charlotte Stroud, Elleana Scott, Emily Booth, Frank Sedor, Holly Stephen, Jasper Lyon Wicke, Leila Lawrence-Montag, Winnie Seaby, Willa Shail, and more!
Home Sweet Home is a celebration of local youth artists and their acts of storytelling to imagine new sustainable futures. Featuring over 15 youth artists and authors guided by curator Re Parsons in collaboration with Youth Imagine the Future Festival, this exhibition is by local youth and for local youth. Home Sweet Home asks all those who enter to consider the future of the locale we call home and the insights, anxieties, and passions of her future caretakers.
AUTHORS + ARTISTS
Abbie Miolée – Author and Artist
Angela Ge – Author
Angela Ge is a 13 year-old 8th grader currently attending Calvin Park Public School. She enjoys going on walks and watching video essays on various topics. She is immensely passionate about art and creative writing. Her aspirations for the future include minimizing the impact of fashion on the environment and promoting the sustainable development of the fashion industry.
Charlotte Stroud – Author
Elleanna Scott – Author
Elleanna Scott is an 8th grade challenge student at Calvin Park Public School. She has two best friends and enjoys writing, piano, and competitive swimming. One hope she has for the future is to focus on restoring forests instead of tearing more down for houses and buildings.
Emily Booth – Author and Artist
Emily Booth is a grade nine student at Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic High School. Emily has recently become the Youth Imagine the Future ambassador at Regi, and looks forward to sharing more information about the festival with her peers and the Kingston community. She loves to sing, dance and act and spends much of her free time at the Kingston School of Dance where she is a member of KYDE, the Kingston Youth Dance Ensemble. Emily hopes that though participating in this festival, her community will become more aware of how we can protect our planet and that youth of today will be inspired to make the changes needed to save our environment.
Frank Sedor – Artist
Frank Sedor is a Grade 4 student, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but now calls Kingston home. His love for art knows no bounds, as he enjoys drawing, painting, and the challenge of experimenting with new mediums. Frank dedicates much of his time to observing nature, fascinated by the lives of creatures and their habitats. It is a tremendous honor for Frank to be part of the Home Sweet Home exhibition, where he shares his deep connection to the world through his art.
Holly Stephen – Author and Artist
Holly Stephen is a grade eight student in the LEAP program at Calvin Park. When she isn’t listening to music or performing in a play, she is always excited to listen, learn, and take action. Her hope for the future is that we will continue to show up for each other and for the planet, and that we can all work together to create a better world.
Jasper Wicke – Author and Artist
Jasper Wicke (13, they/them) has been described as an old soul but they also brim over with youthful enthusiasm and a passion for tending what is broken in our world. Jasper began drawing as soon as they could hold a crayon and has rarely been without a drawing tool in hand in the twelve years or so since that time. They enjoy designing and making unique costumes that both express their creativity and make good use of our planet's resources through thrifting, sharing and swapping. Jasper loves being active outdoors, hiking and camping (especially near water) and hopes to live in a future where our water systems are valued and protected.
Leila Lawrence-Montag – Author
Leila Lawrence-Montag has a passion for writing, culinary arts, graphic design, and all things creative. She was born and raised in Ontario, living most of her life in Kingston with her family until moving out at 16. Leila's passion for writing was ignited through her creative writing class with the help of her teacher and classmates. She now hopes to one day make something of her little hobby.
Willa Shail – Author
Willa Shail is a Grade 8 student at Loughborough Public School. She enjoys playing the piano, dancing, and hanging out with her friends. Willa hopes that her grandchildren will be able to enjoy the local lakes in ways that she does, by swimming in the clean water in summer, and skating on the thick ice in winter.
Winnie Seaby – Artist
Winnie Seaby is a visual and performing artist from Kingston, Ontario with a particular love for contemporary dance and acrylic painting. She spends her summers on PEI, her weekends in the studio (art and dance) and her evenings at home with her cat, Bob. Home Sweet Home is a new and exciting project for Winnie and she's honoured to have been invited to participate.
Inspired by the story “Forget the World Out There” by Leila Lawrence-Montag, written as part of Youth Imagine the Future, this work gives new life to an old bicycle, animated by teen characters Namid and Tara as they ride together, smiling, through the abandoned streets of an uninhabited zone on a surprise date adventure.
Art by Jasper Lyon Wicke | Photo: Courtesy of Union Gallery Staff
Children's books selected by Re Parsons on a strawberry picnic blanket with comfy cushions. | Photo: Courtesy of Union Gallery Staff