By Naj Wikoff
While developing a career in the arts is never easy, it’s incredibly challenging for artists of diversity, as North Country School students and visitors learned on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The students and a few from the region participated in interactive presentations during the day, and over 125 visitors participated in an evening showcase and discussion.
The overall theme was Amplifying Diverse Voices, a diversity that featured a Black American choreographer-dancer and a Broadway singer-actor, an Asian-American singer-actor touring with a Broadway company, a local Mohawk visual artist, a Guinean West Africa drummer and North Country School’s industrial art teacher, whose journey was no less remarkable.
Yunga Webb, North Country School and Camp Treetops’ director of diversity, equity and inclusion, developed daytime participatory activities for youth and an evening concluding performance open to the general public. Area school students were invited to attend the daytime program, but perhaps as it was held on a weekend, few attended. Students filled the sessions and appreciated what they experienced.
“I found the experience of interacting with the artists exciting, something I hadn’t done before,” said Matias, 14, from Mexico City. “I’ve never been up close to people who are very big in different art industries like painting, ballet, Broadway and all that. The artists shared how they got to where they are now and issues they faced. It was inspiring because it showed that no matter where you come from, you can do great things if you keep trying.”
Read more in the Lake Placid News.