#i very much encourage ppl to take ideas/inspiration from my art to make their own art isnt this individualistic thing

[ink-the-artist]

i’m afraid there can only be one colored pencil artist on tumblr at a time. we’ll have to take away your credentials.

i think its the fucked up creature art ppl are upset about, ive gotten that reaction on some pantyhose sculptures I did that were inspired by completely different artists lol

[mayakern]

ok here is my alternative, non-hourly method of calculating commission prices.

transcript below the cut! original tweet here

ok interest has been expressed, so i will go over my alternative, non-hourly method of calculating commission prices!  this is not perfect and it is not a good method for everyone, but i feel it reframes the problem in a useful way.

first, you need to look over your finances and figure out how much money you NEED to make per month (your base expenses + 30% for taxes) and then how much you WANT to make per month (so your necessities + breathing room for savings, surprise expenses, fun stuff, etc.)

a lot of people do not have the luxury of making more than their bare minimum, but it's still an important consideration to make! from this number, multiply it by 12 to get a yearly income (and remember that taxes will come out of this number AFTER the fact)

from there, you need to decide how much of this money you want to come from commission work specifically (not just art). for the rest of the thread i am going to assume that you, the creator, want to make 100% of your money from commission work. this is not true for most ppl.

first, i suggest taking a base commission price and dividing your desired monthly by that amount. so, if you want to make $3000/mo ($36k per year before taxes), divide that by your current idea of a commission number. let's say $50 per piece. that's 60 pieces per month.

that's roughly 2 pieces per day, sometimes more. IMO this is unsustainable. is it doable? yes, depending on your art. will you burn out doing it? probably. so then the question is: how many pieces can i COMFORTABLY and SUSTAINABLY finish per month?

maybe you can finish 2 pieces per week. that's about 8 pieces per month. if you divide your desired income (3000/mo) by 8, that is $375 per piece. so suddenly you see what you actually need to charge to be where you want financially.

THIS METHOD DOES MAKE A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS: 1. that you want to make all this money from commission work specifically 2. that the client interest is there 3. that your pieces typically take roughly equal amounts of time

it is not a perfect method, but it is a good way to reframe this problem. charging an hourly rate IS good and CAN work, but it fails to take into account all the parts of commission work that aren't spent directly on the art, because how can you calculate that?

this way focuses specifically on a quality of life (or at least a quality of life that is represented by a desired monthly income) and lets you see what you need to charge in order to have your desired monetary outcome.

it also removes the temptation to compare your hourly rate to physical goods. for instance, if you are thinking about charging $60/hour, then suddenly it's like "well someone could buy an hour of my time... or a nintendo switch game" this is a thought trap!! it is bad!

you CANNOT compare the price of custom, one of a kind work to something mass produced. that is like looking at an artist's shop, seeing they charge $10 for a single print, and going "oh so custom work is also $10 a piece then." it's very much not the same thing!

sure, the consumer pays $60 for the game... but the people who did the custom work for the game (art, story, programming, modeling, etc.) made way more than $60 from their hard work. you CANNOT compare custom, unique work to premade goods that are one of multiple.

another note: this method requires you to include an average calculated cost for your tools in your necessary monthly. it works best for digital art (where tool cost is usually 1 in done or a steady monthly), but you can do it for traditional media as well with some extra math!

again! this method is not a good match for everyone and it is not infallible. what it DOES do is reframe this issue in more tangible terms.

most people who are paid hourly are working undervalued service jobs under $15/hour. IN GENERAL once you hit a certain hourly threshold, companies will put you on salary (bc it's cheaper), so looking at a $60/hour rate can SEEM absurdly high and like you are overvaluing yourself.

charging hourly is versatile but it  inspires you to compete not just with others but with your own idea of your perceived value. usually charging hourly is meant to encourage people with prices in the $10-30 range to value their time more but it doesn't scale well after that.

charging hourly is useful and may be a more accurate representation of what your audience is willing to pay, esp if you're not an established artist. the purpose of this method is too look at your actual desired monetary quality of life & figure out how to get there sustainably.

also -- i find this method is more versatile/useful to people living outside the US because it asks what you PERSONALLY need/want and helps you calculate what you need to charge to get there, instead of assuming you want to make an "average" american monthly rate.

[surlifen]

i dont waste energy hating closed species And You Can Too!

alright you asked for it

Claim 1: “Closed species limit creativity in the art community by locking off certain concepts.”

No, they don’t. If you believe that, then you also must believe that copyrighting in general-- or just generally the fact that making a design exactly like someone else’s is viewed as kind of wack-- are stifling creativity. Why? It’s easy to accidentally make a concept that is similar to someone else’s, because there are literally just not that many Things That Exist. There will ALWAYS be repeats. Generally, if a design coincidentally looks like another, there will be a mixture of backlash from people who believe it was an intentional ripoff, and total acceptance from people who understand that it was an accident. Ultimately, the correct way to live is to understand that 1) these coincidences can happen and should not be punished, but 2) intentionally ripping off someone else’s work is wrong. It isn’t black and white, you must process 2 or more concepts at once.

Species owners understand this. I have never seen a species owner come after someone for accidentally making something similar or inspired. This is a myth. Species owners are busy as fuck, generally Normal People, and simply do not have the time or energy or desire to moderate things outside their community. Please talk to literally any of them for more than two minutes and you will discover this. Every species owner I have met is friendly and kind and I’ll go into detail on exactly how bullshit this stereotype of them chasing people down for similarities is later.

So, given that some randos will get upset and harass people over harmless inspiration/coincidence but most will not in ALL cases of accidental over-similarity: this is NOT a species-specific problem and happens just as often--if not MORE often, because of how much people fucking despise closed species-- with non-closed-species characters.

Secondly, species owners do not create a closed species with the goal of closing off a concept from use. They do it to create a community they can manage and share a concept they have created. 

Take the world of Nephfei, created by the artist Queijac. The closed species of Nephfei are called Spinxyn, and they are very much sphinxes. They are not a brand-new concept Jac is claiming to have come up with, they are intentional and very direct references to sphinxes. What sets them apart is their species LORE, WORLD, and COMMUNITY.

[image ID: a screenshot of the Spinxyn species guide on deviantart, created by queijac. Text reads “IMPORTANT NOTE: Spinxyn are a species OF sphinx. Yes, they are sphinx, and yes of course anyone can make sphinx characters and designs using similar appearances! I claim no ownership over design aspects! Spinxyn as a CS community, however, which offers social art related activities, world building, themed events, etc., to use the characters in, simply relates to my own PERSONAL WORK and how i want to enrich peoples experiences with it! Please understand this, thank you!!!”]

This species is not closed so that Jac can copyright the idea of a sphinx. It is closed so that Jac has some control over the world and lore they have created. Were anyone able to create a Spinxyn without an approval process, not only would the community become too large to manage too quickly, but all sorts of Spinxyn with aspects that don’t fit the lore would pop up. 

[Image ID: screenshot of a message from Queijac in the nephfei official public Discord server. Text reads: “theres just a total disconnect that 99% of ppl making closed species are making. a Group...... its about.... the community....... and building the community around One concept that someone makes and puts rules in place for so that they can actually. U kno. MANAGE THINGS... and make a cohesive group experience....... the reason CS have so much popularity is because they come with a community, not because theyre 100% unique never before seen or heard of concepts”]

Jac explicitly acknowledges that sphinxes do not belong to them and even says that borrowing some spinxyn-specific appearance details is okay!!! The ONLY thing off-limits here is a WORLD, COMMUNITY, and LORE.

Except it isn’t. Because Nephfei also hosts not one, not two, but THREE open species of intelligent beings, plus NINE official species of non-intelligent animals, so that anyone can participate.

Claim 2: Species owners harass and police people who make similar concepts.

I touched on this already re:species owners are busy as fuck & Jac openly encouraging people to make sphinx characters and even borrow spinxyn-specific traits, but this note from ground-lion/seel, the creator of Chimereons, really does it for me.

[Image ID: a DeviantArt note from ground-lion to me. Text reads “hello, thank you for showing me this! we don't actively do anything to police offbrands, since it causes more trouble than i think it's worth. i like to avoid drama wherever possible, and it seems like most people who participate in offbrands are just looking to press people's buttons so we can't/won't do anything to these people, i think it is best to just try and ignore it and move on.”]

Here you have the owner of one of the arguably most shit on and hated species saying outright “we don’t bother doing anything about intentional ripoffs”. For context, this WAS 100% intentional, I had noted ground-lion about a user I saw posting adoptables that were LABELED “offbrand chimereons” (so if anyone was hArAsSiNg PeOpLe oVeR SiMiLaR cOnCePtS here, it was me, calling attention to intentional and stated copying). 

Sidenote: I think it’s shitty to intentionally steal a concept. Ground-lion has also said there is no issue with making anthropomorphic chameleon characters, just that chimereons were inspired by a set of traits, a word, lore, a desire to create a community, and their own personal stylization of anthro chameleons. It’s fine to take inspiration from how someone else stylizes an animal, but the degree to which people do it-- just outright copying every aspect of Seel’s work-- rubs me the wrong way. Not enough to say anything because that is only my personal opinion and because I do not have time for that shit.

The Dainty mod team + owner (Pajuxi-Adopts) also have a section stating that to make a design no longer a Dainty, all that’s needed are the following changes: 

[image ID: screenshot of Dainty species ToS. Text reads “ Visual edits must be made for discontinuation, here is our standard discontinuation options: - remove the stockings completely and give them fur like an actual satyr - keep the stockings and give them human legs - make them an anthro - keep the stockings but they MUST start at least a quarter to halfway up the bottom portion of the deer leg with a clear divide between the stocking and leg with fur poking out underneath - you are free to suggest your own edits as well! “]

This may be speaking specifically about discontinuing a former Dainty due to the context we found it in, but this means that a design is not considered a dainty if, for example, its stockings show fur underneath and are not part of the body. That’s it. That’s all they ask. Pajuxi is not saying “this is my closed species of SATYRS WITH SOCKS and if you DARE make a satyr with socks i will COME FOR YOU!!!”, they clearly state that satyrs with socks are an acceptable Not A Dainty. I personally think the lore behind the stockings being physically part of the body and all the specific rules they entail is interesting and original and I do not think it’s such a wild ask to say “hey, please respect this and if you see it, don’t rip it off on purpose. You can take inspiration in all these valid ways but I want to have some control over the concept I came up with”.

Claim 3: Species owners are rich elitists making small artists suffer.

Species owners are small, independent artists. Artists being hated the instant they get even moderate success (that’s still usually BARELY A LIVING WAGE) is its own huge discussion and internalized issues + capitalist brainwashing you all have to deal with on your own damn time, but I want to emphasize that someone making a living or even comfortable wage from their art is Good, Actually, and is something we should all be happy to see and want to see more of. 

Furthermore, no one is being taken advantage of. CS characters are a luxury item. You do not NEED one. If you absolutely will die without a sock deer, make one where the sock isn’t part of their body. If you will die without a chimereon, make an anthro chameleon and use your own ideas. If you will die without a sphinx character, I’m overjoyed to inform you that fucking nobody ever asked you not to make one. CS involvement is voluntary. If you don’t like them, don’t participate in them, but keep in mind that someone saying “hey, please don’t blatantly copy this design concept I spent time creating” is The Same Thing as someone asking you not to copy their individual character designs. You could live without stealing character designs. You can live without making something exactly like an existing CS. 

Claim 4: CS put concepts behind a paywall and make them inaccessible.

Again, these are a luxury item. Most closed species MYO slots cost $10-$45. That is not a ridiculous amount to aspire to. Closed species owners WANT people to participate in their species, so there are a ton of ways.

- Chimereons hold First-Time Owner flatsale slot raffles every single month to ensure people who are new to the community have a greater chance of nabbing a slot than existing participants - Dainties have an art prompt every month, which rewards every participant regardless of skill level one prompt point (the art can be visual or written). Six prompt points can be used to buy an MYO slot for free. If you desperately need a dainty and are flat broke, you can get a free one by writing 150 words a month for six months or doing one drawing each month. Skill level doesn’t matter, ALL participants get a point if they follow the rules. - I joined a raffle for a free pre-made Spinxyn. I did not win the raffle. Jac randomly decided to give out 7 MYO slots too, one of which I won. I entered a raffle that DID NOT HAVE MYO SLOTS AS A PRIZE and got one for free anyway. CS owners want people to participate, I promise. - Dainties just had a 24-hour turn-in event (that they warned about a month in advance so folks could prepare designs), meaning every single person who submits a design in that 24hr time frame gets a slot. Normally slot sales are limited in number and sell out in seconds. - Jac sporadically draws quicker, messier Spinxyn designs which always cost $5 and raffle-flatsales them on Discord. $5 is not a gatekeepy price. - Tomoyokis recently had a free-for-all event where everyone could claim either a free common slot or a $10 uncommon slot. These are just specific examples I remember of easier or free ways to get CS. Non-specifically:

- art = reward systems are common, so again, just writing or drawing enough can equal a free MYO slot or entry into a raffle for a pre-made design - many many species that are relatively new have FREE turn-in events or giveaways to build a community - free FTO slot raffles - paid but discounted FTO slot raffles - random free design giveaways - trading art for a CS character or MYO slot (I’ve gotten a dainty and two dainty MYO slots this way, and I realize not everyone’s art gets accepted, which is why this is a whole list of ways that don’t require artistic skill whatsoever)

So getting your hands on one isn’t the worst thing in the world. You might need a little luck (as in, you have a completely fair chance that is equal to everyone else’s) or a little dedication (6 months of wanting one, or having to have a design ready within a limited time for a free turn-in event).

Also, there’s a reason CS prices cannot change much: this causes issues with the value of all existing CS characters. Dainties will ALWAYS be $35. The MYO slot price will NEVER increase. If it did, all previous dainties would be worth less, or would have to have their worth increased, which is logistics hell. Inflation doesn’t affect CS the same way it does everything else.

Claim 5: ok but legally nothing is stopping me from making one lmaoo

That is true. It’s also true that there’s not really any effective laws in place to protect artists when they say “Hey, please don’t quote retweet my art on Twitter” or “Hey, please don’t repost my art even with credit”. Sometimes, we just respect artists and do what they ask because we are Nice Fucking People, but apparently, species owners are a whole different thing, evil, and do not deserve the same basic respect.

IN CONCLUSION

Talk to a CS owner. They’re reasonable and kind people. There’s an exception to every rule, of course, but what I’ve found overwhelmingly is that they’re literally just people like you and I who were excited to make something cool and share it with people. The emphasis is HUGELY on community. I used to dislike the idea of CS too, but since participating in them and talking a ton with the owners (who are super down-to-earth and active in their servers-- Jac helped me with a confusing horse video game and gave me a Free Horse in there), I’ve realized that the caricature of CS owners as greedy and bitchy, laying claim to basic concepts like A Cat With Wings, is just bullshit. The stereotype that CS community members are an angry mob who will roast you over a fire if you draw a chameleon on two legs is bullshit. The idea that CS are impossible to get, are for the bourgeoisie, and cost thousands of dollars is bullshit (I bet you’re thinking about scarfoxes right now. Hot take: I think it’s great that an artist is selling their intellectual property for that much. I think we all should be able to. I think if someone chooses to spend that much on a design they think would make them happy, that is literally not a fucking problem, and since it was their choice and their money no one is being taken advantage of unfairly. Let people buy the shit they want to buy, I promise you will fucking survive).

I like CS, I think they are neat, I wish people would give the owners a break. They are just independent artists like me. They get lied about and stereotyped over this stupid drama bullshit and they’re so tired and saddened when the subject comes up. They literally do not police anyone-- they don’t have the time or the desire, and it wouldn’t work anyway.

I won’t post CS content here anymore. But I like participating voluntarily in these communities. I don’t understand why that’s something YOU get to have a problem with.

Stay out of my inbox. Thanks.

[sugawaras]

as someone whose creations have 'inspired' many creators here and started a few 'trends'.. it was honestly very upsetting seeing so many people, i guess take a shortcut, by 'copying' my style/thing i do when i spent years getting the uglier stuff out so i can get to the good stuff, however, i think by even acknowledging that someone who's inspired you it would mean a lot to them (like it did to me), sometimes people would message me in private to say that and that would be enough, or in tags [1]

ngl there was a time where every other coloring was inspired in one way or another by something i created.. and 1 out of 10 acknowledged that, and most of the time they were either a close friend of mine or a mutual, which, although inspiring people was what drives me to create, i wasn’t being credited and so it didn’t feel like i inspired anyone [2]

i guess what would bother me is people who intentionally avoid their stuff being linked to mine, those who don’t even follow me or reblog my posts, people think by doing that they can prevent themselves from being ‘called out’ or whatever (i only called out one person in priv lol).. also even if it’s a small but a prominent thing in someone styles, i think we should acknowledge that in the post or tags.. most people here don’t do that unless it’s very close to being a flat out copy lol [3]

and like, i have been in the scene for a looong time (8+ years?), i have done my fair share of ‘copying’ and upsetting creators back then lol, which gladly didn’t go unnoticed and those creators called me out on it, and i improve a lot once i realized other peoples ideas and time were not Free Real Estate. [4]

sorry last one lol, people say that what we create is inspired by someone else’s one way or another, which is true, except we have to add so much to each piece to make it our own, to me, i don’t see the point of creating something if it doesn’t add anything to the creative space (or doesn't improve my own style). i like how you handle being told that your creations are a copy of someone else’s, and you definitely have your own touch, thank you for crediting me 💕

hi!! first of all i hope u mind me putting the rest of your ask under the cut i just didnt want to make ppl scroll through my response haha, secondly thank you!! now that you mention it, there are actually many times that ive been directly or indirectly inspired by someone but i never actually credited or mentioned that they inspired it. i never noticed (until you pointed it out just now) and i really regret that i didn’t mention it. so thank you!! i know it cant make up for my past edits but from now on thats something i want to do. also thank you for sharing your personal experiences with copying and inspiration, im really sorry you had to go through that, and if i or someone else ever contributes to it, please call me out on it. and i 100% agree that creating something isnt worth it if youre not contributing something new, since in a way thats kinda the whole point of “creating” something lol

finally, thank you!! i feel like im being super repetitive with how many times ive said thank you LOL but i mean it!! and if you are who i think you are, i hope you know that your edits really are beautiful and inspiring and an honor to all the media that youve created something for!!

also: thank you to every person who’s sent me an ask over the past few days (even the first anon lol you sparked a lot of discussion that im grateful for!), ive gotten to hear so many perspectives on art, inspiration, and what it means to make something, and im so thankful for all the kindness and even criticism bc it made me realize that i still have so much to learn. from now on ill really try my best to improve and become more original, but for now, thank u all for encouraging me to keep making stuff <333

[heister]

Interview with Daphne Morgen and Hannah Brumbaum of Youth UnMuted

As I reflected upon in my last post, it’s been one year since I began volunteering in Ritsona refugee camp with Lighthouse Relief. As I struggle to reconcile my desire to still be in Greece doing the work on the ground, with my reality of needing to stay in the U.S. right now, I am finding new ways to stay involved and further the amazing work of my peers, even from afar. This is the first in a series of interviews with such peers, catching up with them a year after we met to discuss how they are continuing to work with and on behalf of refugees around the world. For this first installment, I chatted with my supervisors in Lighthouse’s Youth Engagement Space (YES), Daphne Morgen and Hannah Brumbaum, about their path from YES to their newest initiative, Youth UnMuted.

Megan Heise: I want to start with where we all were a year ago and bring things up to the present. Could you talk a little about what this time last year looked like for you, particularly in terms of the work you were doing in Ritsona?

Hannah Brumbaum: Almost one year ago to date, Megan you had just joined us in the YES and we were preparing to launch the 3rd edition of the Ritsona Kingdom Journal.

Daphne Morgen: We had also been in our new space for a couple of months, so we were settling in and decorating and creating the space.

MH: I think I knew at the time how relatively new everything was, but as a (nervous) outsider coming in, it felt so warm and established already to me.

DM: That was definitely our goal -- we had just had a landscape architect volunteer assist us in designing the garden which we felt really helped to make the space feel more welcoming. Even the small act of caring for the plants and bringing them in and out every day was a part of our programming.

MH: I know you've talked in other outlets before about this, but I’m wondering if you can give a brief review of what inspired you to start YES in Ritsona?

HB: Truly, it was the lack of programming in Ritsona for young people. and as we began to engage with small numbers of that population, we realized how much the youth needed and wanted a space that was just for them.

The YES began with Daphne, and the tree of hope project, but quickly evolved into a drop-in space that was open daily, and we began to increase the programming in response to whatever the youth expressed an interest in.

Especially in the beginning days, our constant question is "How are you, do you want to chai, what do you feel like doing today?"

MH: I'm thinking of a conversation we all had at one of our meetings, about how people in our lives would sort of be like, "Oh, wow I could never do what you're doing," as a way to appreciate the work but also as a way to sort of absolve themselves from responsibility of doing the same.

HB: Yes, I remember that meeting. we were talking about power dynamics, and our power and ability to leave and go back home, and the response that our families and friends had to our experiences here.

MH: Yeah. And when you talk about YES, and the simplicity of “How are you, do you want tea, what do you want to do,” it makes me think about that. Because obviously you two especially put a lot of really special work and energy into making YES a reality, and also I think there are people out there who might want to get involved but think they, I don't know, can't for some reason. So I'm wondering what thoughts you have, or what you would say, to someone who might want to get involved some way but has that initial attitude of “Wow, I couldn't do that.”

HB: In all of our time working in Greece, a common theme is that youth engagement really is so simple when you break it down.

DM: We approach it in what we feel is a very "common sense" type of approach -- it's basic humanity to ask ppl how they're doing and what they need. And asking them what they need (knowing that this might continually evolve), is how we approached every aspect of creating the programme.

HB: While yes, this is a very vulnerable population, and everyone needs to take care about protection issues and appropriate interactions, I think that many people are just intimidated by the labels attached to the youth that we work with.

This is also really what inspired the youth magazines we have created

MH: Yes! Tell me more about those!

HB: This idea that if everyone could see what we see on a daily basis, they would have their perspectives on these youth completely change.

DM: We know that "refugee" is a highly stigmatized label...as are young Arab men. Many people make an assumption that they are A. Muslim, B. Religious, C. Radicalized. When we know that the truth is -- they're just youth who need to be nurtured and engaged with.

HB: So the Ritsona Kingdom Journal came from this place of youth wanting to share their voices, and have a place to express themselves and show their work with more people than just us and their peers. And also as a way of reframing the conversation and perceptions around these young people.

And this is really an aspect that we chose to dive deeper into with Youth UnMuted

MH: I'd love to know when the idea for Youth UnMuted began, and the journey to manifesting that idea, making it a reality.

DM: Well we began to roll out Storytelling without Borders (StWB) in January 2018, where we used stop motion film making to engage with young people all over Greece.

We were given the overall goal, but left to design the actual workshops and mode of engagement.

So Youth UnMuted really stemmed from wanting to delve deeper into this  style of pop-up workshopping, and storytelling by melding our experience in creating a physical space in the YES and all the best practices we learned there, with continuing to engage with young people in a variety of settings, and aid in giving them a place to create their own narratives.

MH: One thing I'd like to talk more about is something you and I know, but maybe others who aren't steeped in this work perhaps don't, which is how vastly under-resourced (and that feels like a gross understatement) the majority of refugee camps are. You two created the YES space in Ritsona from the ground up, and that lives on and exists still, but maybe other refugee camps do not have an NGO there or someone there to make a YES space, so my understanding is that Youth UnMuted is this, as you describe it, “pop-up” workshop model, and I'm wondering if you can contextualize a little bit the need for that in Greece and globally.

DM: Yes -- when I first was finally given a physical space to begin programming, it was an empty isobox. So we upcycled and built everything from recycled materials, my family and friends made personal donation of art supplies and basic necessities.

The framework of Youth UnMuted, while pop-up, can definitely be replicated and expanded upon by existing programmes and we are happy to aid in this in any way we can.

We've developed a document of best practices that we believe can be utilized by people who want to set up a similar space, or are doing similar pop up workshops.

Because again -- we think that it's very common sense, and you do not need a lot of money or resources to create a simple space for young people to feel safe and engaged.

MH: It's hard to wrap up, because I feel there are so many other things I want to talk with y'all about! But I guess where to end for today would be: if someone is reading this and is really interested and wants to learn more and get involved with Youth UnMuted or this work in general, what are some avenues they could take?

DM: Cough Cough...$$

Haha. Ok but seriously...Promoting and helping us to get a larger readership for the magazine. To further get the voices of these youth shared. Ultimately, that is how people can help -- to think of networks and people within their own lives who may be interested (ie, universities, school curriculum, libraries, etc.)

HB: I will absolutely just second Daphne in what people can do specifically for us. Share the magazine. Read the magazine. Send it to your family and friends. There are thousands of people still arriving in Greece every year and mainstream media has stopped covering the crisis that is still occurring there. People can do so much by simply not forgetting that these youth are even there.

MH: So, for the record, where can people go to donate, and to read and share the magazine?

HB: We currently are able to accept donations in the form of checks made out to St John’s Episcopal in Oakland, and cite Youth UnMuted in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to St John’s Episcopal in Oakland 1707 Gouldin Rd Oakland, CA 94611

DM: And we see youth unmuted expanding beyond Greece, perhaps to those who are resettled in Europe and beyond...and then beyond just displaced populations...but for now...

HB: We want to put together a Youth UnMuted advocates group, if people are interested in joining, that encourages people to hold fundraisers, raise awareness, and stay involved in their communities. This is what we see as so beautiful about Youth UnMuted - we work with the youth on the ground, but our mission of 'elevating youth voices' is only accomplished when people are hearing them. So we see Youth UnMuted and the magazine as a bridge, connecting communities of our peers and larger audiences with the youth.

MH: Y’all are such rockstars! I respect and appreciate so much your relentless commitment to the work and always evolving and nurturing youth (and volunteers like me!) and connecting folks through these pathways.

To learn more about Youth UnMuted, read the magazine, and/or donate, visit https://www.youthunmuted.org/