Messengers Youth Program, Messengers Collaborative Monsters, 2026. Image courtesy of Messengers Youth Porgram
Messengers Youth Program
Gallery 2
Opening Thursday 27 August, 2026, 6-8pm
Friday 28 August - Sunday 20 September
‘Recognising yourself in a lineup’ is an exhibition by youth who attend Messengers. Messengers is a visual arts based program for youth aged between 9 and 25, who are vulnerable and may be experiencing mental health challenges or are feeling disconnected from their family, school or community.
When the youth at Messengers create art, it often relates to either their special interest which is a term relating to autism, or their hyper fixation, which is a term relating to attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Both describe an intense passion for a particular topic or activity. Many of our participants have special interests and hyper fixations relating to pop culture. Their artworks based in pop culture have become metaphors and vehicles to explore queer identity, gender diversity, neurodivergence, intergenerational trauma and their lived experiences of mental illness. Youth is a vital time to build self knowledge and the art that our participants have created maps this stage of personal development. It offers a rare glimpse into the minds and creative lives of young people. Each artwork is an example of youth resilience, complexity, thoughtfulness and creativity.
Learn more about the Messengers program:
Messengers is a non-clinical social support program for vulnerable young people across the ACT. The program uses a social prescription model and facilitates voluntary non-clinical arts groups for young people aged 10 – 25 years who are disengaging from school and their community and experiencing mental ill-health, social isolation and a range of other issues.