Gay youth shake up city library

Gay youth are getting crafty this month as they showcase their own works of art for a public exhibition in Melbourne’s City Library.  The Queer Square exhibition is running from January 15-29, held by gay youth organisations Minus 18 and Safe Schools Coalition Victoria.

Marco Fink, 18, is treating the exhibition as a launch pad to not only get his name out there but also encourage change in schools.

“I really wanted to get my work out there and get that story out there as well, show people you can do cool things in all sorts of different ways, even if it is just art, you can create change in your schools,” he said.

Fink has submitted a series of pieces he created in his senior years at The King David School, a Jewish school in Melbourne.

“I’ve looked at all my work and found ones that look at my experiences and expression of sexuality and who I was at a fairly small Jewish school,” he said.

Fink said his pieces reflecting on sexuality which were created for school assignments were controversial initially. “The more I did it, the more the teachers got on board and other students really excited and by Year 12, I had a lot of support,” Fink said.

Minus 18 general manager Micah Scott said the more opportunities for young people, the better.

“We have a lot of young people who are creative and who do want to express themselves and don’t have that platform where they feel comfortable,” he said.