A youth program that provides queer youth with an afterschool safe space is a dream come true for the one who coordinated it.
Feb. 12, 2023- FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.
Taylor Johnson (she/ they), 25, shared how growing up in Batesville, AR was “not conducive for the queer experience.”
An Arkansas native, Johnson moved to Fayetteville in 2014. She is a 2020 alumnus of the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in both Communications and Political Science.
Having graduated during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was an odd feeling of what could be next with the whole world living in a state of fear.
Johnson moved to Chicago in the fall of 2020, where she worked as a remote learning facilitator for a local elementary school.
“I liked helping kids learn,” Johnson said with a smile.
F.Y.R.E. program’s art materials
Returning to Arkansas in 2021, Johnson started at the Cocoon Collective NWA in Fayetteville, a non-profit geared towards providing resources and helping LGBTQ+ teens and young adults. It was there Johnson got hands-on experience in non-profit management and helped to set up the operation that fed her passion for helping queer youth.
Johnson honed in on management and programming and began work at Fenix Arts in 2022 where she aided in performances, events, and gallery shows put on by the gallery, which works in conjunction with the retreat center, Mount Sequoyah.
However, when the talk of a youth art program in the Fayetteville area for queer adolescents arose, she jumped at the opportunity to lead it.
Mount Sequoyah and Fenix Arts partnered together and submitted a grant to the Walmart Foundation and in return, they were awarded $120,000.
Johnson wanted to curate this art program in a way to provide for queer youth what was not available to her.
When discovering who she was as a child, she shared there were no resources available to her, and people who did come out faced severe backlash and ostracization.
Johnson said, “There were these two girls that were sisters, one of them came out and these friends that she had known for years and years pretended that she didn’t exist at all. I remember one day going to the bus, I looked over, and I saw so much sorrow in her face and I will never forget that. That moment of recognition. Almost like a pleading, it was really sad.”
Painting done by F.Y.R.E. student
It was that moment she witnessed growing up that she knew she wanted to be part of something that would make a change in how queer youth and people struggling with their identity could view themselves.
“I knew I had a lot of work to do to set up things for people like her, people like me, and other queer kids.”
The Fenix Youth Refuge Experience (F.Y.R.E. Program) operating through Phenix Arts and Mount Sequoyah got its start in the summer of 2022.
Defined by Johnson as “An after-school art program for LGBTQ+ students aged 12-18 that need a safe and inclusive space to create,” the F.Y.R.E. program meets several times throughout the week where students have different art projects and are supported by an equipped staff.
Grace Dilday (she/her), 26, the experience coordinator at Mount Sequoyah said “Taylor has been spearheading this project as our program coordinator for the F.Y.R.E. program. Having some time in the afternoon in a safe place with like-minded individuals who have gone through the same or similar experiences, that connection can be life-changing for some of these kids.”
Counselors are available to the kids for free in the program through the Teen Actions and Support Center as well, where their care is personalized.
Emily Gentry (she/her), 32, President and CEO of Mount Sequoyah said “Phenix has been a relatively new, really exciting entity to get to know through our creating spaces program.”
“One of a kind and so special,” Johnson said about the F.Y.R.E. program.
“I’ve seen all kinds of impact. Having a safe space to come and create is really special and impactful because a lot of these kids don’t have funds or access, specifically to a safe space,” said Johnson.
This program offers a chance for students to heal, and it provides the chance for self-discovery through art.
Fenix art gallery studio
“I was really surprised that one of our shyest students invited three kids to the program. It’s been interesting seeing shy and unsure students flip and become really excited and energetic members of the program, that’s really special.”
Not only is Johnson living out the dream she has had since she was a child, but she is also witnessing the changes in her students through this program as they discover who they are as people.
“I’m having the best time ever. It’s so cathartic to be around queer youth that has these resources and spaces that I didn’t. Being the person, I wish I had growing up feels really good, it feels very full circle. I used to be in so much pain and discomfort where I lived, because of the people around me, I somehow someway took that and processed that, and it changed into this.”
“Taylor’s really helped me to understand some of the things that come along with being in that community… how we create a safe space for the youth and for everybody,” Gentry said, excited for what is to come next.