YOUTH ANTHOLOGY - Dayala Ayesha

The Mississauga Youth Anthology is a collection of poems, short stories, photographs, and artwork from young artists in the Mississauga area. Stories have always been powerful, but in these tumultuous times, they hold arguably even more weight. The theme for this year's anthology is "To be perfectly candid" - a fitting theme for 2020, a year in which candour has been needed perhaps more than ever before. With a spotlight on racial injustice and policing, people from around the world have spoken their truths and shared their realities.

'To be perfectly candid' means to find and express your truth, whatever that truth may be. We hope that as you flip through this anthology, you feel the passion of all the artists that have shared a part of themselves within these pages.

To the artists, who took a step out of their comfort zones to submit their work--many of them for the very first time: I hope you continue to use your art as an outlet, as a coping mechanism, as a voice for injustice, whatever it may be, and evolve to encourage young emerging artists around you to follow in your footsteps as well.