Change Agents: The Power of Possibility

MANCHESTER, NH – As our schools open on a new year of education, we want to recognize the incredible roles leadership, mentorship and encouragement play in creating the best environment for personal growth.

In case you missed it, The Colors of Change Mural Unveiling at West High School on August 17, 2023, was the culmination and celebration of a summer-long program of Kimball Jenkins, a community cultural center in Concord, New Hampshire. The Kimball Jenkins mission is to cultivate creativity, make arts education accessible, and honor historic preservation. They did that superbly.

MUSIC AND ART

Music and Art have the power to transform and connect people. They provide a common language that can transcend boundaries. West High School’s courtyard served as the canvas for an innovative summer placemaking program from My Turn and Kimball Jenkins that transformed a drab old school courtyard into a colorful and energy-enhancing space. Placemaking is a process which relies on community participation and is centered on transforming a public space based on the desires, needs and vision of the people connected to that place.

The Colors of Change Mural unveiling showed off some 20 pieces of creative placemaking in Manchester West High School’s courtyard. With an underlying theme showing awareness of climate change, the arts and community came together to celebrate.

THE POWER OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Community-funded support is our opportunity to engage the rising generation in expanding their perception of “what is possible” and sets them up for future success in any field or endeavor they choose. Ava and Yvette, two of the summer interns spoke at the celebration and said “What was first perceived as a boring job soon became a fun experience with many new faces and memories.” Their full press release is included at the end of this article. Do take the time to read, in their own words, how impactful this program was.

West High School principal Rick Dichard created a powerful gateway for students by supporting this fresh coat of paint that represents a creative new view of place and space.

Kimball Jenkins program director Yasamin Safarzadeh and executive director Julianne Gadoury were ever present but not “in charge” as they made space for new voices and leadership to emerge and present throughout the evening. Student interns shared with the audience their many lessons learned and their strong appreciation for being given the opportunity to get outside their comfort zone. They showed an impressive openness in a number of ways – performance, presentation and “thank-yous” to all who helped them.

THE POWER OF POSSIBILITY

Yasamin Safarzadeh was the master of ceremonies and guide through the evening. She spoke proudly about how multiple organizations worked well together to create new pathways to success. She and the interns gave shout-outs to “Allie Myturn” of My Turn for continuous support and encouragement of youth. Allie Myturn is the social media handle of Allison Joseph, a Saint Anselm College graduate who mixes art, communications and opportunity at every turn. Ink Link readers were previously introduced to Mackenzie Verdiner, a rising senior at Manchester High School West, when she was selected on July 19, 2023 from among half a million students across the country as THE National GEAR UP Student of the Year. Think about that for a minute. Manchester New Hampshire Student, Mackenzie Verdiner was the one out of 500,000 entrants nationwide who was selected.
In speaking to the conference attendees, Verdiner thanked the people and organizations that helped her “see what is possible, when adults truly believe anything is possible for Manchester students.”

This power of possibility was the theme of the conference and the phrase is a good way to start off this new school year in Manchester.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Manchester Ink Link has been quietly building an Inkubator that can serve as a powerful change agent.

The paywall absent access for everyone makes it an ideal repository for showcasing the positive accomplishments that the Arts can amplify and accelerate. Our digital space build out without paywalls means unlimited opportunities for expression in the arts, in creative placemaking and pathways for youth to test and experiment with respected professionals offering guidance. What Richard Hanes, Yasamin Safarzadeh, Allie My Turn and all of the individuals and businesses mentioned in the press release below have done – can be repeated and scaled as every good entrepreneurial start up hopes to do.
Want to lead a project? Lend your skills as a mentor? Donate to the Ink Link Inkubator?

All await your action.

PRESS RELEASE FROM AUGUST 4, 2023

In case you didn’t see this or read it in local media:

Colors of Change: West High Mural Unveiling August 17th, 6-8 p.m.

This is Ava and Yvette from the MyTurn and Kimball Jenkins Summer Placemaking internship. Through these innovative programs, we have been granted an amazing opportunity to work with fellow students from across various schools. What was first perceived as a boring job soon became a fun experience with many new faces and memories. Great additional organizational partnerships with the Nature Conservancy have motivated us to appreciate our world through off-site trips to the Great Bay Preserve Office, Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve, and Jackson Estuarine UNH Laboratories. Heck, we even get to go behind the scenes at the Currier Museum next week.

We are currently working vigorously to achieve our ambitious goal of painting over 2,000 square feet of murals at West High School in Manchester. We would love to have anyone who is interested in seeing what we have been working on these past few weeks to attend our mural unveiling on August 17 from 6-8 p.m. There will be delicious food for sale by Don Quijote Restaurant, refreshments, fire playlists and music played by a local string trio starring Nicholas So.

We have some thoughts regarding the work rendered in these 20 mural segments:

Our passionate group of talented individuals are creating unique pieces surrounding the unfortunate reality of the climate crisis our planet is facing. Thanks to the help of artist Richard Haynes we have been able to take this negative topic and spin it into art, beautifying the courtyard at a stereotypically miserable place known as ‘school.’ Other art facilitators such as Amber Nicole Cannan, Jozimar Matimano, and Yasamin Safarzadeh have been huge supporters in making our time here more enjoyable while respecting our artistic freedom.

We have also benefited from Richella Simard’s immense generosity and Jasmine Torres’ incredible insight into utilizing our social media literacy. We are so thankful to scientists Taja Simms-Harper and Kelsey Meyer for lending us their expertise in the matter of marine life!

“It is education that will give you freedom and opportunity,” says Richard Haynes, lead artist overseeing the student interns visual aspect of work.

Says Janet Rosado, 17, about her piece: “I feel very strongly about climate change because the wildfires have heavily affected people I know because of the poor air quality. Since I’m a graduate of 2023 which is also the 100th year of West High School being opened I decided to incorporate both elements into one piece.”

Sabrina Andino, 16, from West High School, says, “My painting shows a bird getting pushed out of the city to represent how birds are affected by pollution in urban areas.”

“This program is nice, and got me out of my comfort zone. It has also helped me be able to travel to new places. I also appreciate the paycheck of course,” says John Reyes, 16 years old from Central High School.

Camila Tavarez, 17, from Central High School says, “I painted flowers because it is tropical and exotic like where I come from, that being Puerto Rico.”

We are so thankful to the following donors and grantors; TruValue Distribution Center, Benjamin Moore at Capital City Paint, The Bean Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Bank, NH State Council on the Arts, NH Charitable Foundation and each of your individual donations and labor! Without all the amazing community members who stopped by for mentorship meetings and to lift up these young, vibrant voices, these programs would not be possible. Thank you to Virgin Oyster Company, Constantly Pizza, The Friendly Kitchen, Iguana’s Restaurant, Firefly Restaurant, Panera Bread, and Chipotle for the delicious treats! Special thanks to West High School for everything y’all have done to make this project succeed and to take care of us!

Also Ms Jane and Zeynab, y’all are everything! Thank you to MyTurn’s incredible staff for the backup and support!