YES Transition Network
"Where the Change Takes Place"
"Where the Change Takes Place" is an exhibition of drawings, photographs and poetry by teens that have received services from the YES (Youth Empowerment Services) Transition Network. The YES Transition Network is an integrated, coordinated network of services, whose goal is to assist foster and other youth at risk to make a successful transition into self-sufficient adulthood. Services include: education, work readiness training, career development, financial literacy, internships and a variety of other self sufficiency services and appropriate referrals. YES is a collaborative program of Access, Inc., Casey Family Programs and the San Diego Workforce Partnership and serves youth throughout San Diego County.
The exhibition title refers to the place within each of us where there is an impulse to create, act and move forward. It’s a quiet place to which we also return to reflect before a new impulse sets us in action again. Some of the artwork was made during participation at YES; a few were made for a high school class; and some were done by teens completely on their own.
Some of the artwork was completed within “Work Readiness” training, in which teens gained skills that are vital to the workplace. Art making is an excellent framework for learning. It pushes one to reflect, think critically and creatively, problem solve, and practice, practice, practice. It requires adaptability and a curiosity for experimentation and discovery.
For example, teens learning computer skills in the work readiness training might be given the task of taking self-portraits on a digital camera, after which they import them into the computer; place them into an MS Word file to create a flyer; send the flyer out using an email attachment and learn email etiquette at the same time! Time flies as the young artist has fun being engaged creatively and the resulting hard copy document serves as a testament to the student’s newly gained skills. Other skills may be gained in the creation of art: teamwork, listening, adaptability, problem solving, attitudes & behaviors, task completion, and interpersonal relations.
Artistic passion can be used to leverage other kinds of pursuits in a young person’s life – the skills are transferable. Through the encouragement of art practice and the celebration of completed works of art through exhibitions, we build our youth and our youth help build the community.
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