How do you describe the phenomenon of ‘The Teenager? Well, if you look to the media you will most probably find them a strange, temperamental creature that exists in two forms: hermit-like seclusion or roaming packs. If you look to The Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre for an explanation however, you will find a different answer.
Youth Arts Panel member Kelly Smith and a team of local young artists have created an exhibition to celebrate The Teenager, giving youths and adults alike their say about what it is to be a teenager. The exhibition was launched on Thursday 17th February, and I was invited to take a look.
The launch kicked off with seven excellent poems by Clive Birnie, inspired by teenagers from different decades, interspersed with a song from each decade performed by young musicians. Each one was vibrant, energetic and guaranteed to make you smile: from Laurence Morgan’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ to Max and The Radio Clowns with ‘Prince Charming’ and a genuinely inspiring rendition of ‘Common People’ from The Velvet Wesleys. If one thing was clear it was that these teens don’t fit stereotypes and have shining careers ahead of them. What better way for young people to spend their evening?
After this wonderful pre-launch gig it was time for the exhibition itself. En route to the showroom was an entire wall papered over and graffitied by young artists and with plenty of room for everyone else to fulfil childhood ambitions of drawing on walls! It was already beginning to fill up with images and scribbles from ‘chocolate is better than sex’ to political standings. One message that caught my attention was: “And I… I took the road less travelled by… (well I wish I had)”. A nicely poetic thought, and also one that makes me want to take all the opportunities that come along – it also makes you wonder if you should be taking the safer option instead.
One half of the exhibition was a slightly stereotypical, albeit homely, teenager’s bedroom, complete with mess, guitar and even a pair of boxers dangling from the bedstead. The room begged interaction from a classic board of word magnets to mix and match, an exercise book to doodle in and a TV displaying a documentary of on-the-street interviews about memories and opinions of teenagers from the public. The general message was enjoy your youth, don’t stress about the tough things and just have fun being you and doing what you want. The remarkable thing about it was that none of it was shoved in your face, none of it was intrusive and it was all uplifting. All of the adults were full of nostalgia and encouragement while the teens were open, honest and full of ideas.
Through a curtain and into the other half of the room, and you find yourself amongst slightly larger than life mannequins decorated by a young team of creatives to visually express differing perceptions of teenagers. It’s quite an eclectic mix – and even the hooded figure isn’t as intimidating as much of the media would have us believe. Each mannequin is unique, honest and simple. Around the room are snippets of all thoughts collected from a range of adults and children from a Twitter and Facebook campaign asking questions about teenage memories and experiences. These are well worth a read, and many of them will make you giggle and sigh as you remember ‘the good old days’.
As a project spearheaded and created by young people with little interference from the adults facilitating it, and with such a strong subject surrounded by a negative media image, it could easily have descended into an immature, in-your-face rebellion. What I found was a gentle, humorous and honest expression of humanity and creativity without agenda. It really is a celebration of a small part of life.
As a whole, the exhibition put a smile on my face by reminding me that in ten, 15, 20 years I will be able to look back on my teenage years with nostalgia. It also showed me that today’s teenagers will go on to be great pop stars, important historians and even prime ministers, despite negative stereotypes – how inspiring!
By the way, I really do recommend taking a look at some of Clive’s poems at www.clivebirnie.com
The exhibition runs Thursday 17th – Saturday 19th Feb at The Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Taunton
