Who we are | Imagine Action Youth

2023 Youth Council Members

Eman Laboudi

In my painting, I added an Algerian flag because I am half Algerian. I really love to read, write, draw and listen to music while doing it. I also love space. I love it because of all the different planets and facts. There is always something new to learn about it. I also love art because it can go so many different ways. I like to paint, use clay, draw and so much more…

Nico McArthur

Destroy the patriarchy, not the planet. A quote I live by. Equality is important, and when people disagree, I never understand.

Hi, I’m Nico McArthur, and no, my full name is NOT Nicole. I’m a lifetime feminist and a confident libra that doesn’t take no as an answer. I’m German, moved to Wakefield when I was 2 and can speak in the language fluently. One of my icons is Emma Watson, a great actor and mighty feminist. I am by far an extrovert and really enjoy talking and giving my opinion. My friends are really important to me, and I don’t know what I would do without them. A good movie to me is either a court case or Moxie, now that’s a movie I could watch a million times. I have extraordinarily strong opinions and will always back them up.

Art is a fantastic way to express emotions and feelings. I love that art is so abstract and can be quite different from person to person.

Shayla Landry

I am Shayla Julie Michelle Landry. I am 11 years old and in 6th Grade. I am Metis, Irish, French, and Canadian. My zodiac sign is Aquarius, and my planet is Uranus.

My friends are especially important to me. I have a mom, dad, an older sister, a dog, 2 cats, a bunny, and seven chickens. I love music, art, hanging out with my friends and family dinners. My favorite bands are The Beatles, Metalica, Weezer and Beastie Boys, City and Color, Death cab for cutie, Alexisonfire, and The Lumineers.

My favorite foods are Shawarma and Chinese food.

My favorite movies/shows are Yesterday, Top Gun Maverick, Stranger Things, Outer Banks, and Wednesday.

My favorite actors are Tom Holland, Ryan Reynolds, and Emma Watson.

I support the LGBTQIA2+ community, Black lives matter, Equal Rights, Every Child Matters, smashing the patriarchy and more.

I believe the Government can do more to support the planet and all races. I think that we should smash the patriarchy. I also believe that people in power should help the planet like Emma Watson.

We should stop Wars because they hurt our planet, kill people and they start anger, distrust, and fear. Wars don’t solve anything; people are people you can't take their culture and their language away.

This organization is good because we get to do art and express our feelings for what matters in the world. Art is an amazing way to express our feelings because it makes people think and discuss it and that is what we want. We want people to act and care.

Thank you  

Leia Shea Ranger-Drouin

My name is Leia Shea Ranger-Drouin. I’m a country girl, and I have been since day one. I love the city too, don’t get me wrong; a day in the city makes for an awesome outing, and it’s beautiful and magical in it’s own way. But nature is just so amazing, so full of magic. Every time I step into the woods, I can imagine sparkling fairies, sneaky little elves, hidden gnomes and trolls and dragons. I can imagine glowing portals and fae kingdoms tucked away in the rocks and the roots of the trees. My middle name, Shea, literally means “of the fairies”, and it’s a title I wear like a badge of honour. And I think growing up surrounded by nature is why I’m such a creative person.

I’ve always loved coming up with stories, acting them out, and drawing the scenes and characters. Even before I could use a pencil or pen to write down a proper sentence, I was writing books; I’d draw the pictures for each page and tell my mom what to write alongside the images. She’d copy it down word for word, and when it was finished I’d put the pages in the proper order (I’d number them when I had finished the drawings and everything), staple them together, and voila! A book. And more often than not, I’d get my friends or my parents to pick or make a character, and we’d act out the story. Sometimes the book came after the game, inspired by the story we had played. The details are different now; my stories are now too long to put an image on every page, and often times I have parts of them in my head LONG before I actually write them down (I still haven’t finished any of my main story projects, some of which I started over a year ago!); my art style has changed a lot, getting more sophisticated the older I get; and now there are specific people, such as my younger friends and cousins, that I play them out with (as opposed to my parents and literally any one of my friends). But the basics are still the same, and I’m pretty sure they’ll never go away. They’ll definitely keep evolving, but they’re sticking around indefinitely.

In all of these cases, I’m expressing myself, or letting my imagination run wild. That’s what art is to me; not holding back, just letting your imagination pour out of you for the world to see. And I intend to keep on doing so, for as long as I possibly can.

Facilitator and PAF Co-op Member,
Genevieve Cloutier (she/they)

I'm a mom, partner, artist, tree-lover, writer, article reader, dadaist, absurd theatre enthusiast, busy-bee, idealist... I'm also a PhD candidate and part-time prof at the University of Ottawa, as well as an art, media and English teacher at St. Michael's High School.