INSIDE OUT PROJECT: OWN YOUR JOURNEY- Breaking the cycle of violence through creativity

Inside Out Project – Own Your Journey SUMMER 2015 is a three week intensive arts-based program running out of Mountainside Secondary School (July 6-24, 2015) for youth ages 13-20 that uses the vehicles of therapeutic art, photography and stop motion animation to teach life and transferable skills while developing self-empowerment, peer to peer interaction, community connections and by providing tools to make healthy, non-violent choices. The goal for Inside Out is to help students address the root causes of violence (with a special focus on violence against women) through creative expression. The program allows students to creatively reflect on self, to work in a team and to experience critical engagement and transformative changes that shift their attitudes and behaviors in order to prevent violence. Three experienced facilitators (Ian Powell, Erin Ross, Kat Thorsen) provide instruction and support.

The program begins with a focus on self, moves into teamwork and ultimately into community.

Week 1: SELF

Photography, therapeutic art, journaling, drawing to focus on self-regulation and creative process

Week 2: TEAM

Team building, project planning, stop motion animation, self and group-directed learning

Week 3: COMMUNITY

Project completion, self-evaluation, community outreach, presentation and celebration

This program is offered to youth at no cost thanks to a grant from the Civil Forfeiture Office (CFO) in partnership with the Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division (VSCPD), BC Ministry of Justice.

Day 1 highlights include:

journaling, drawing, Chalk Talk, photography (including exposure triangle and DSLR 101).