Youth vision

Through the important work of its Youth Advisory, the AGO demonstrates a continued commitment to youth engagement. Formed in early 2021, the advisory’s current iteration includes 12 artistically inclined young people from across Canada, all between 16 and 25. Meeting bi-weekly from September to December 2021, they were tasked with creating a youth-led web series highlighting the work of emerging Canadian artists. The result of their efforts is titled Inner Space, and this Wednesday, December 7, you can catch a free screening of season one in the AGO’s Jackman Hall. 

Inner Space is a monthly web series co-curated by the Youth Advisory and AGO Staff in which young artists from across Canada give personal tours of their studios. The series makes visible a new generation of diverse creatives, giving a unique platform to young curators and artists while delivering authentic youth-led digital content. Since its launch in January 2022, 11 of the series’ season one episodes have been released, with one more slated for Wednesday, December 28. Among the emerging artists profiled so far are multidisciplinary artist duo Whak and Mo, digital multimedia and video artist Marissa Sean Cruz, multidisciplinary artist Oreka James, and artist and activist Vanessa Mercedes Figueroa.      

Every artist profiled in an episode of Inner Space was individually selected by a member of the AGO Youth Advisory, each of whom provided a curatorial statement as a rationale for their selections. Take a closer look at each episode and curatorial statement here. We recently got in touch with Youth Advisory member Ruth Masuka, who shared some insights with us about the importance of Inner Space and what she hopes viewers will take away from it.    

“Art to me is a labour of love, and I hope Inner Space will allow people to appreciate the creative process as an art form, just as much as the final product itself. From my perspective, Inner Space was produced to illustrate (both figuratively and literally) how artmaking practices are derived from the many dimensions and nuances of artists' life experiences. Inner Space not only carved out new domains for youth artists to show their work, it also directly placed the means of cultural production and curation into the hands of youth. I hope being able to step into artists' "inner space" gives viewers an understanding of their inspirations, motivations, and aspirations and in turn, a greater understanding of their art.”

The first season of Inner Space screens Wednesday, December 7, in the AGO’s Jackman Hall free of charge. Book your tickets here. If you are unable to attend, visit the Inner Space webpage, and stay tuned for the final episode of season one featuring artist Blake McLeod, available December 28.