Express Yourself Artwork Featured at the Mayor’s Gallery

Artwork created by at the Express Yourself studio by students from the Beverly High School Ladders Program is on display at the Mayor’s Gallery in Beverly City Hall.  Mike Cahill, the mayor of Beverly and avid supporter of Express Yourself, invited Express Yourself to create an exhibition featuring youth artwork to be put on display for the public. The mayor hosted an opening reception honoring Express Yourself youth and staff to launch the exhibition.  The reception was attended by Mayor Michael Cahill; Kevin Harutunian, Chief of Staff; Dr. Steven Hiersche, Superintendent of Beverly Public Schools; Suzanne Charochak, Assistant Superintendent; and Elizabeth Taylor, High School Principal.  The youth were escorted on a special tour of Beverly City Hall and sat in the chairs of the City Council and School Committee Chamber. Express Yourself Co- Director Stan Strickland and master drummer Joh Camara played music for Mayor Cahill  and the youth guests in his personal office.

The exhibition pieces selected by Exyo staff are a series of self-portraits exploring the inner-self and how it is presented to the world.  The self-portraits are mixed media pieces that include wood, Xerox transfer, and altered National Geographic magazine pages.  They employ realistic imagery and abstraction to create an aesthetic contrast and to explore the greater subjects of the self and the soul.
Artwork created by: Colby Delano, Dylan Ross, Brad Lewis, Sean Noonan, Emily Ledford, Izzy Kelly, and Isaac Baer