Teen Exchange’s “Guide to Care”

Though it’s been almost a year since members of Teen Exchange gathered in person in our studios, the work these young artists created last spring—and its impact on our health and wellbeing—is still rippling outward. As we weather these cold winter months and continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic, we thought we’d share “A Guide to Care” created by the 2019-20 Teen Exchange artists. Created in and for the early days of the pandemic, we’re still finding gems of support and inspiration this many months later. Here’s more from Teen Exchange Director Corina Iona Dalzell:

We started to make this Guide to Care right when isolation began. In a scary time, I wanted to check with the wisdom of our young artists and hear how they were maintaining a sense of wellbeing and care while things were so uncertain. They had beautiful things to say. We decided to take on interdisciplinary roles while exploring the themes of care in these different areas. One teen responded with text, one with visuals, one with sound, and the whole group worked on movement together. We used the Dance Exchange tool Equivalents with the text to generate movement, then played with staging in our new Zoom studios. In place of the annual Youth Arts Night, we gathered online (the first of oh so many) to share our Guide to Care with our family and friends.

I am proud the group for bringing their curiosity to a tough transition time—and for creating something that still resonates today. By collaging all our bits and responses together, I felt a sense of unity we miss while working from home.

Watch Teen Exchange’s virtual performance below and find ways to care for yourself and others in their “Guide to Care.”