SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Students in the Sioux Falls School District are getting ready to show off their talent Friday.
Madison Evans has been painting canvas for the first time.
The picture will eventually show a woman underwater, symbolizing someone who’s overwhelmed.
The 17-year-old Joe Foss student says she knows what that feels like.
“I have two younger siblings, and I help take care of them ever since I was seven. I learned how to take care of babies and stuff really, really young, and I do help pay bills and stuff, and it’s a lot of work,” Evans said.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Tyler Chairez is getting ready to perform a poem.
“My poem is about about struggles. It’s about god. It’s about my fight with depression. It’s about healing, but mainly it’s about my family,” Chairez said.
Their work is a part of this semester’s Vision and Voice, an event that lets students tell parts of their life stories through art, poetry, and music.
The community is invited to the showcase Friday night.
“It gives them an opportunity to tell the story, but it gives me and the community who comes to see the show and the poetry the opportunity to understand where the students are coming from,” Vision and Voice Artist-in-Residence Joan Zych said.
While Evans and Chairez are telling their own stories, there are messages people can take away from their work.
“I want them to know that there are people in your corner. Even though you don’t see them, there’s still people. You can call family. You can see them in your darkest hours,” Chairez said.
“Whenever you feel like you’re drowning, take a breath. Just take a breath, step back, don’t force all of it on yourself at once,” Evans said.
Doors for the evening showcase open at 6:00 PM at the Axtell Park building.
Be sure to use the L door.
