by Christine McLaren
VANCOUVER, April 26 (Xinhua) -- If art is an expression of culture, Vancouver British Columbia's Ignite Festival is a sign that Vancouver's youth culture is alive and well.
The six-day festival taking place this week covers nearly every aspect of the arts imaginable, from music, dance, spoken word, and visual arts, to circus and drag -- all taking place in the Vancouver East Cultural Center, one of Canada's premier performing arts venues.
The kicker? It is run entirely by youth between the ages of 13 and 24.
We all know how the old saying goes: if you want something done right, do it yourself. So when it comes to developing the next generation of art lovers, that's just what the Vancouver East Culture Center -- locally known as the Cultch -- is trying to do.
"Basically, the Cultch was interested in developing younger audiences and fostering the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts," Youth Program Manager Corbin Murdoch said.
But beyond just training the world's next performers, curators, and techies, they hope to help youth along in creating something extraordinary.
Murdoch says the program helps empower youth by introducing them to the self-exploration the arts foster, but also by challenging them to strive for the quality the real arts world demands.
"It's really all about their self expression and whatever they want to bring to the stage they can," Murdoch said.
The content of the festival is uncensored and completely youth written, directed and curated.
"It is really empowering because they realize that they have complete agency over the end result, so not only create something that they're really really proud of, but it also means that they are really invested in it," Murdoch said.
"They start to realize that to create something you're super proud of -- how much work on the front end you need to put in."
Aside from Murdoch's guidance, the youth are responsible for every aspect of the festival's production, from lighting, sound and performance to promotion and ticket sales.
"It's not all about being on stage and being the star performer. It's about exposing them in a way that's sort of unprecedented to the entirety of the arts community and recognizing that there are all sorts of different options in the arts," Murdoch said.
He said the festival actively resisted the American Idol "instant stardom model" and instead fostered the work ethic required to make a go of the arts industry.
"We're just saying that, you know, if you want a career in the arts, these are the skills you're going to have to learn, introducing them to the people who are doing what they want to do, and encouraging them to build those relationships," Murdoch said.
Now in its 12th year, Ignite is organized primarily by a core group of about 25 youth that meet weekly throughout the school year.
By the time the show gets rolling each spring, however, the total number of youth participants reaches about 250.
It also includes a Young Playwrights Festival premiering three original one-act plays, written, directed, and performed entirely by youth.
Despite all the serious talk, the youth organizers still have plenty of room to play. The content is professional, but the spirit is light. Each night, the festival features a different dress-up theme -- one night circus, the next mustaches.
Youth panel organizers like 18-year-old grade 12 student Faber Neifer hope Ignite helps show the world that good art comes in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
"What I really hope they get out of this is just seeing that there is a totally valid youth art world out there. I think it would be really easy to just say oh, they're young, they're youth; it's pretty easy to disparage them. But a lot of these artists are so talented," Neifer said.
He said he hopes the festival encourages youth to get involved in the arts, and to challenge the level of professionalism that they pursue.
"As an artist, it's really kind of made me have an idea of where I might want to go and it's given me a lot of exposure to a lot of really great acts. There's a lot of these youth artists that are just amazing," Neifer said.
"It's really made me look forward to appreciating other arts, and maybe eventually performing here as well."
When the curtains close at the Ignite Festival at the end of this week, the performers will take a final bow. But for most of them, the real show has only just begun.
