Teen Arts Festival: Finding common ground

SCOTT PILLING staff Teenagers from throughout Monmouth County took part in the 2007 Teen Arts Festival held at Brookdale Community College last week. The festival brings together teens and professional artists involved in all disciplines of the arts to participate in workshops, performances, exhibits and critiques of their work.

Two thousand teens and growing! The Monmouth County Arts Council's Teen Arts Festival is growing exponentially as teens involved in the arts discover that they share a common passion.

"It's a chance to meet new people, with interests that aren't just unique to you," explained Casey Kapalko during the two-day festival held last week at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft.

"It provides a place to relate to others and their art," said the 11th-grader at Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch.

"What you couldn't say before, you can definitely say here," added Elaine Livingston, a senior at Matawan Regional High School.

'You find common ground here."

The Teen Arts Festival, which was held this year March 14-16, is open to all Monmouth County students ages 13-19 in public and private middle and high schools as well as home-schooled students.

The objective is to give teens the opportunity to work with professional artists in their fields of visual art, creative writing, theater, dance and music (choral and instrumental), to try different disciplines, have more in-depth experiences with an art form and receive feedback on their work.

According to Terri Thomas, community arts director for the MCAC, providing a forum for artistic expression for teens has a residual benefit.

"The visual arts process is so powerful to see reflected in the arts. Teens' commentary on our world today is powerful and disturbing as well. It's a lesson to us as adults, about how deeply our children think about things, how deeply they care and worry," she said.

"It's not just a benefit to the students, it enables adults to see into the souls of our children in a way we don't necessarily get a chance to do. After experiencing these teens' artistry, you don't just dismiss them as kids."

- Gloria Stravelli