Iphigenia Wilder
When writing artist statements, I usually put more focus on my inspiration and processes, etc…but this time I want to talk about YAC.
The past three-and-a-half years have been by far the best and most interesting of my life so far, and YAC has had quite literally everything to do with that. Months before the COVID-19 pandemic, I moved back to my birthplace of Carmel Valley after living in Santa Cruz for six years. I lost all of my community up north and began homeschooling once the pandemic started. Emerging from isolation and social distancing in 2022- without having had a single peer to hang out with in-person for over two years -I felt an urgent need for connection with people my age and an increasing desire to find companionship in other artists. That’s where YAC came in, and honestly may have saved my life from creative fossilization and lifelong anxiety issues.
It was extremely difficult to be a YACster at first because of the severity of my social anxiety. On some days I could just walk in, but on others I had to sit outside the door or walk around Monterey for a while to calm myself down before I could muster up the courage to go inside. Everyone there was so kind to me and patient with my awkwardness, but for probably a year after joining, I was still trapped in my bubble. Even so, my initial months at YAC gave me the necessary confidence and support to start attending community college at 14 years old as an alternative to high school. I’m now graduated with an associate’s degree, and in a lot of ways I’m an entirely different person. I really do believe that YAC was the main force behind it all, and without it I probably wouldn’t have had anyone my age in my life while I trudged through the adult world of college. I may not have even decided to pursue art any further than just doodled marginalia.
On top of the social aspect of YAC, it has also given me innumerable opportunities for my art and I to be seen and improved upon, something I simply would not have had otherwise. It’s given me insight into the life ahead of me, from mentors and other seasoned artists from all walks of life, to better inform my decisions about what I want to do with my life and what kind of artist I want to be.
I’m sure there are many other wonderful things that YAC has bestowed upon me that will be incalculable until I’m older and have had time to ruminate. For now, I can’t express enough appreciation for the beautiful multidimensional doorway that is Youth Arts Collective, and the marvelous social/studio space and community that this place has to offer. I’ve grow so much as an artist and a person, and I have gained what I hope will be lifelong friends and connections from my time here. To my YAC family and everyone I’ve met along the way: thank you, thank you, thank you. You mean the world to me.