Youth art and my grand-niece

Thirteen-year-old Pearl George has her first art exhibition under the Youth Art program in her local region. Pearl George is my grand-niece – my sister’s grand-daughter.

Pearl George’s first solo art exhibition ‘My Brain is a Circus – A Kaleidoscope of Thoughts’ focuses on encouraging youth to think positively and embrace differences.

The exhibition opened on 31 August 2020 at the Wardii Youth Centre in South Australia as part of the inaugural Onkaparinga Youth SALA mentorship program. The one-month mentoring program aims to assist youth artists. It paired Pearl George and 17-year-old Aimee Allan with mentor Carly Snoswell, the City of Onkaparinga Youth Program Officer – Arts who has worked in the arts industry for almost ten years. She assisted them to explore their artistic ideas and to provide support in planning the exhibition.

Reported in the Onkaparinga Now local newspaper, Carly Snoswell said, ‘Pearl’s a firecracker, which is a good way to describe her. She’s full of ideas and energy and she’s a very kind and positive person to be around.’

Pearl said that the mentorship program has given her the freedom to experiment with new media, build confidence, and help her find her artistic voice. She experimented with Posca pens, and said that her mentor guided her ‘on a lot of things, like online aspects, writing about my art, and being professional.’

The exhibition ‘My Brain is a Circus – A Kaleidoscope of Thoughts’ runs from 31 August to 30 September 2020 with social distancing and Coronavirus pandemic safety measures.

MARTINA NICOLLS

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MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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