Summer Art Group

for trans and gender-diverse youth

Transforming Supports Summer Art Group Art Show.

Little Fernwood Gallery 1923 Fernwood Road

August 1st 2023 - 3:30pm - 6:30pm
August 2nd 2023 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Transforming Supports is a community-based research project that aims to improve services that provide trauma and mental health support to trans and gender-diverse people

As part of the project, we are running a summer art group for trans and gender-diverse youth ages 10-17

The summer art group offered a space where participants met other trans and gender-diverse young people, made art together, and talked about mental health supports for their communities. 

We met weekly on Wednesdays from 3:30pm-5:30pm through July (July 5, 12, 19, 26).

No art skills were required to join the group. All levels were welcome.

Make art

Meet friends

Share your perspectives

About the Group

Meeting four times through July 2023, the Summer Art group for youth ages 10-17 gathered to ask youth what they thought adults needed to know about supporting trans and gender-diverse youth in their communities. 

Participants had the opportunity to engage in collaging, mixed media sculpture and canvas, button-making, and a collaborative mixed canvas piece. All art activities were optional and participants could choose which activities they felt most interested in. 

Participants were given themes to think about with each optional activity, such as mental health and safety. Each theme had prompting questions for participants to reflect on while working on their art. 

Eligibility

Free to register

Research participants received an honorarium of $95 for their participation

In order to participate in this group, you needed to:

  • identify as trans or gender-diverse (your gender is not cisgender, including but not limited to identities such as: transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, Two-Spirit, gender fluid, agender, etc.)

  • be aged 10-17

  • be interested in sharing about your experiences with accessing mental health supports

  • live in South-Western BC (including but not limited to the Greater Vancouver Area, Vancouver Island, and Gulf Islands)

  • be able to attend in-person groups July 5, 12, 19, 26 3:30-5:30pm in Fernwood in Victoria BC

How it works

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    Most Importantly

    Your participation in this project is completely voluntary. What you share in the group will be anonymized (meaning that your name and identifying details will not be shared publicly) unless you want your name associated with your art that you create.

    You can withdraw your consent to participate at any point before or during the groups. If you change your mind about being a part of the research project once you sign up, you can still attend the group and make art without being a part of the research part.

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    1. Sign Up

    In order to sign up, complete a survey form . The survey is used to confirm your eligibility to participate. The answers to these questions are confidential and will only be used for the purposes of this project.

    Within a week of registering, you will be contacted by a member of the team to confirm your enrolment and to share details about location of the group.

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    2. Pre-Group

    Mattie will contact you and/or your parent/guardian to confirm your consent to participate.

    You will receive a consent form with information about the project and your role. You will have a chance to ask any questions about the process and your role before the group starts.

    There is no other preparation you need to do to attend the group.

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    3. Group

    The art group will run 3:30pm-5:30pm on Wednesdays in July (July 5, 12, 19, 26). At the groups, you will have the opportunity to try out some different art-making techniques and work on your own art pieces. We will have time for both individual and group work. All materials are provided.

    Snacks will be available.

    During some of the art activities, you will be asked to share you perspectives on improving mental health care and supports. Some of the art activities will have a theme related to mental health. You can choose to participate in the conversation or use the themes as much as you feel comfortable, if you choose not to participate in the discussion, you can still make art. You will not be asked direct questions about about what experiences led you to need mental health services or be asked to disclosed your own experiences with mental health to the group.

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    4. Post-Group

    You will receive $95 as an honorarium for your time spent with the research project .

    During the last week of the group, the team will arrange that you receive an honorarium of $95 for your time. This will be distributed by e-transfer or by cash depending on your preference.  

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    5. Art Show

    At the end of the group, there is an opportunity to have an art show to share what you have worked on in the group. This show will happen at the Little Fernwood Gallery space. This show is optional, you do not have to show your work or attend if you are not comfortable.

    We will work together as a group to plan a show that feels comfortable for the group.

About the Project

This art group is part of a larger study that aims to better understand trans and gender-diverse people’s perspectives and experiences of mental health care within BC.

This research is important because many trans and gender-diverse people have a need for mental health support or but right now there is little research about how to best provide useful, safe, and accessible mental health care, especially trauma-related mental health care, to these communities.

What you share will be used to improve services for trans and gender-diverse people and promote a better understanding of what trans and gender-diverse people need in their mental health services.

This project also asks you what you think needs to be researched and how you would like to see this happen for future research about mental health care for trans and gender-diverse people.

Findings from this project will be shared with community organizations, services providers, and other trans and gender-diverse community members in order to provide direct and actionable recommendations for improving services for trans and gender-diverse communities

Community Partners:

The summer art group is a collaboration between the Transforming Supports project and Big Brothers Big Sisters Victoria supported by funding from the Centre for Youth and Society at the University of Victoria. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria (BBBSV) is committed to sustaining an environment where representation matters, diversity is celebrated and everyone is welcomed. We believe that every child has limitless potential. This means that all 2SLGBTQIA+ people with diverse abilities, gender and sexual  identities, races, religions, cultures, and orientations are worthy of support, respect and empowerment. Our programs in the community and in local schools enable life-changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of children and youth. When we match a young person with a trusted mentor, we start something incredible – a life-changing developmental relationship where they can be supported, challenged and empowered. Our vision is that all young people in our community realize their full potential and become whoever they dream of being.

FAQs for participants

  • Yes you can! This is group is for all levels of artists.

    We believe making art can be a fun way to express ourselves and is a fun activity to do with other people. Art can be helpful to express our thoughts and feelings on different topics and we don’t need to be ‘good’ at it to make something interesting and important.

  • This is a group event so other people will see you and meet you when you are in the group.

    Any information you share related to the research component of this group will be anonymized. This means that your name and identifying information will not be connected with any information that is presented in relation to the research project.

    You can choose if you’d like your name connected with photos of your art. You can also choose to use a pseudonym if you want to be credited but remain anonymous.

  • Thanks for your interest in this project. This project is inviting only folks who do not identify as cisgender as participants i.e. people who are trans, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, agender, genderqueer, or otherwise gender-diverse.

    If you are cisgender, you are not eligible for this project.

  • If you have accommodation needs, please let us know on your registration form. After registering, a member of the project team will connect with you to ask about accessibility needs.

    If there is something would make participating more accessible for you, our team will do our best to provide this.

  • The honorarium offers some compensation for your time and expertise you are sharing with the project.

    You will receive an honorarium of $95 via etransfer during the last week of the group. To receive this, you will need to share an email address or phone number that can receive etransfer with the project.

    If you are not comfortable receiving etransfers, we can arrange to give you your honorarium in cash.

  • What you share with this project will be used to better understand trans and gender-diverse people’s experiences with mental health services. The project team will look at what all the participants shared with the project and identify themes and main ideas. These will be shared back to the participants, wider trans community, and service providers and organizations that provide trauma-related mental health supports in order to let people know what needs to change and how we can make these services better. Findings from this project will be shared in a variety of formats including on this website, in community reports, in academic publications, and at presentations. You will have a chance to share who you think needs to hear about the results of this project and where we should share findings.

    We hope that what you share with this project will guide future projects so that we continue to make mental health services better for our communities.