RE-create has been longing to expand its presence in Hamilton in order to reach more youth in meaningful ways. And with a recent three-year grant from World Vision, this longing has become reality!

As a result of this grant, our Studio Coordinator, Meghan Hers, is able to expand her hours, open the studio an additional afternoon a week and engage youth outside of the studio. She will also be developing connections with other organizations that work with vulnerable youth in Hamilton.

This grant also opens up another exciting opportunity! It allows us to partner with Dr. Linda Liebenburg from the Resiliency Research Centre associated with Dalhouise University. By becoming a research site and enabling our youth to participate in the research, we hope to learn from them more about how they become resilient in the face of the challenges they encounter, and how we can better support the development of resilience in the vulnerable youth we work with.

This fall, RE-create has had the opportunity to collaborate with two area high schools. We connected with Notre Dame High School for an October Art Crawl exhibition. Not only did we collaborate to create and display art for the exhibition, we also shared a Thanksgiving meal together in the studio. In November, we worked on a shared project with Hamilton District Christian High School, reflecting on the theme of “nature in the city” and creating art that was exhibited at the November Art Crawl.

This year marks our tenth year of offering a creative, inviting space where youth on the fringes can come, share and create. We have had ten years of creative energy, vibrant colours and subtle tones. There have been big splashes and small details that have contributed to the culture-shaping and community-building experiences at RE-create. We have truly been blessed and have much to be thankful for.

As we move into our second decade, we hope that all of this history, as well as the new grant and initiatives will greatly increase RE-create’s ability to engage and connect with youth, inviting them into a safe and creative space where relationships can happen, ideas can be generated and community built one relationship and one story at a time.