Since 2016, underprivileged youth in Long Beach have had a safe space at the United Cambodian Community (UCC) building to explore art through the Living Arts Long Beach program.
The program geared toward 14 to 24 year-olds recently opened applications for its next six-month session slated to start in November.
Shortly after joining UCC in 2015, Program Manager Sayon Syprasoeuth started the program following a strong belief that art is beneficial for the youth and community at large.
“We just noticed how important the arts was in the Cambodian community,” Syprasoeuth said. “It’s the history, going back to the genocide. We don’t want the arts to get lost in the community.”
Among the 2 million lives lost in Cambodia during the genocide by the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 were many artists. The regime also tried to eliminate many aspects of culture, including art.
With a desire to keep art flowing through the community and to empower the youth, Syprasoeuth has taught classes and managed the free program which includes video game design, drawing and painting.
“For me the personal satisfaction is just to see the students discover and feel their own empowerment within the arts,” Syprasoeuth said.
Former student Lauren Snook noted in a YouTube video that Living Arts gives younger people the power to speak through paintings, collages or writing.
“It gives more voice to younger adults to be a part of the community,” Snook said.
Using a hands-on approach, the classes are sometimes taught by guest artists who facilitate creative projects.
While storyteller Sambo Sak has taught students about self-expression through the written word, visual artist Angela Willcocks has focused on paintings and self-portraits.
According to Syprasoeuth, part of the allure of having a guest artist teach is the student’s ability to see what it takes to be a career artist and ask questions.
“It dispels a lot of the mystery for them,” Syprasoeuth said in a video about the program noting that some students have gone on to study art in college.
Far beyond developing their artistry, the program aims to build the student’s confidence and their social and communication skills through artistic expression and interaction with others.
In a Zoom video (the program went virtual in 2020 due to COVID-19), a student sparked a discussion about building confidence in their artwork after presenting a stop motion project, stirring up a wave of encouragement from others on the call.
Although it meant spending extra hours in front of a monitor after a day of virtual education, Syprasoeuth said students have liked the virtual experience.
Zoom videos online consistently show over a dozen participants per session.
When classes continue in November—Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.—they will continue to take place virtually.
“When you see students’ eyes light up about things that they didn’t know about and to even have a support system to show them that a mentor cared about them, [that] is amazing to me,” Syprasoeuth said.
Space for the program is limited. For Long Beach youth looking to apply or who have questions, call (562) 433-2490 or email Sayon Syprasoeuth at sayon.syprasoeuth@ucclb.org.
