Amplify Grants Awarded to Express Yourself Mentors
Nic Bennett and Rachel Cushing, two of Express Yourself’s longest standing youth participants and mentors, have each received an Amplify Youth Voices Grant from the Mass Cultural Council. Amplify Youth Voices is a new initiative to raise the voices of young people whose creative expression is driving positive change in communities across the state.
Both Rachel and Nic will create and lead an exciting visual project taking inspiration from this year’s theme, SOUL. The projects will engage marginalized youth in creating a visual installation to be exhibited at the Cummings Center. Nic will create two large panels to be displayed outside of the Express Yourself entrance and Rachel will create an installation involving origami to be hung in a public space in the Cummings Center.
Rachel received an Amplify Grant as part of its 2016 pilot program and it was a great success, gaining recognition from the local community and state officials. We look forward to seeing these creative projects blossom in the studio and infuse the community with art.