Youth Arts Exhibition ‘My Voice Matters’ launched at GEMA

The Minister for Youth, Christian Santos, launched an art exhibition at the GEMA Gallery in support of Children's Mental Health Week on Tuesday evening.

Members of all four Gibraltar Youth Service youth clubs have been participating in workshops and producing art over the past three weeks, focusing on various ways to express themselves and why the voices of our young people matter.

The young people have utilised a variety of techniques to communicate their ideas about why their voices matter, including clay work, photography, painting, and collage making, to name a few.

Along with some members of the youth clubs also in attendance was the mayor Carmen Gomez, family, friends, and professionals who work with young people. All were given the opportunity to experience the young people’s artistic perspective on mental well-being; under the theme of ‘My Voice Matters’.

“These artworks show the creativity of our young people involved in the Youth Clubs, expressing their personal representations of such a complex issue as is mental well-being. Sometimes we do not have to use our physical voices to make ourselves heard or understood. The arts are also a valuable conduit to express feelings and information and the works on display are testament to what can be achieved when young people are encouraged, bolstered and allowed to express themselves freely,” said Mr Santos.

“It is my absolute pleasure to open ‘My Voice Matters’ and hope this valuable message of empowerment is spread to our entire community.”

Anyone wishing to see the exhibition can do so until this Friday at the GEMA gallery, located at Montagu Bastion, Line Wall Road. The exhibition will be open from 11am - 3pm Monday - Friday, with a late opening until 6pm on Thursday.