The Cowichan Youth Festival of the Arts celebrates its second year with its Public Gallery Showcase which will run from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 25 inside the Learning Center II at Queen Margaret's School, featuring programs for students from K-12, and elementary and high school-aged artwork.
The festival, which was initiated entirely by QMS students, first launched in October, 2023, and since then 60 QMS student leaders have worked together to operate the annual festival.
"The festival was designed to inspire and celebrate the arts within our school and the broader Cowichan community," said festival founder and leader Jason Cheng. "Students take part in workshops, exhibits, and performances, engaging in an immersive artistic experience across 10 artistic disciplines. We were invited to, and subsequently attended the Happy Cities Cowichan Valley Arts & Culture Summit in 2024 as one of the local arts organizations."
Cheng, who is now in Grade 12, led the creation of this first of its kind art festival in its initial year with the unwavering support of 49 of his peers. Being an avid filmmaker and photographer, Cheng said he was inspired to curate this event after having the opportunity to participate in film festivals himself.
“Having been nominated and awarded at film festivals like the All-American High School Film Festival in New York and the BC Student Film Festival, I felt a need to create a festival here in Cowichan for youth to take part in,” said Cheng. “Many of the art festivals available on the island are strictly for visual arts, so I wanted to include as many art forms as possible for CYFA to be inclusive of all youth artists.”
CYFA entails both workshops and exhibits across 10 different art disciplines including: visual arts, ceramics, material arts, film, photography, dance, poetry, classical music, digital music, and drama. Extension art workshops are also offered which include culinary, arts and crafts (bracelet and card making) and karaoke.
Grade 12 student Chloe Pyne-Mercier is excited to be co-hosting the drama side of things alongside her peers Matin Taghi, Madison Wright, and Serena Kulla.
"The arts provide an opportunity to showcase talent, proving that great talent isn’t limited to the heart of NYC or the stages of L.A.," said Pyne-Mercier. "Incredible artists have emerged from Canada, even in remote areas, yet the arts are often overlooked in a society dominated by sports. It’s also a chance for the community to discover and learn about art forms they might never have explored otherwise."
The second day of the festival will be a FilmFest held inside the TLC multipurpose room at QMS on Feb. 26 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. which will be invite only, and will feature student films from local schools such as Shawnigan Lake School.
"This year, select schools were invited to submit to and attend the FilmFest which will be a meaningful networking opportunity for young filmmakers and film lovers in the Cowichan Valley," said Cheng. "As a filmmaker myself, I am especially proud of the launch of the FilmFest @CYFA this year, for which we’ve invited other schools to join us."
Cheng said this year's festival will have around 600 participants from QMS and other local schools. He said next year CYFA plans to open up select workshops, as well as gallery (visual and material art) and film submissions. For more information visit cyfa.qmslife.com
"The fact that we’ve managed to establish a platform for young artists to have their art forms recognized and seen is beyond inspiring," said Cheng. "We lack an event or exhibit in Cowichan that allows exposure to a large collection of art forms, and CYFA has filled that gap. I hope that the community can be inspired by the immense potential of budding Cowichan artists. This event was curated to foster a sense of community and spark the artistic possibilities of K-12 students in Cowichan, and it will fill me with great pride if students can leave with a newfound interest in art forms they hadn't encountered before."
