Safe Spaces Trail- Comics Youth

This is a transcription of the podcast for Comics Youth Mural, as part of the Safe Spaces Trail. You can listen to the actual podcast here.

You are stood outside The Tempest building- home of Comics Youth! Here at Comics Youth we focus on elevating and supporting marginalised young people to make and create comics, books, zines and many creative medias to navigate complex traumas and lived experiences. We are entirely led by young people and provide safety, support and resources for young people within the Liverpool City Region. We host weekly sessions and are a safe space in the city centre for people to pop in to and grab a drink, have a chat and explore our library of comics and nerd culture! We are the creators of the safe spaces trail and wanted to highlight the need for inclusion and safety within all the spaces that young people encounter. Safety is a right, not a privilege and we want to make that more known! We have been honoured to work with plenty of other spaces during this trail project and we hope you love them all just as much as we do.

One of our wonderful inhouse illustrators, Bell, made this mural- we asked Bell a series of questions about the piece and this is what they had to say!

Who are you (name, pronouns, who you are as an artist)

My name is Bell, I am an illustrator living in Liverpool. My work is bright and cheerful as I aim to bring people happiness and comfort. I most appreciate art that makes me feel safe so I try to do that with my own.

Why do you feel this artwork represents comics youth?

Comics Youth is an endless stream of support, energy, creativity and amazing opportunities. It’s a very empowering place to be and when young people come together in the space you can see them light up. There is a great feeling of community and acceptance from like-minded people. To reflect all of this I put a lot of movement into the characters and showed how some are happier in a group, some are happy doing their own thing. I wanted it to show how we all have different personalities and enjoy different things, but at Comics Youth there’s a safe space for everyone. I also made sure to show our key focuses here – art and comics, writing, activism, our DnD group. And of course that CY is an openly queer friendly place full of rainbows.

What was your favourite part of making it?

I really enjoyed colouring the characters. Using a gradual gradient of colours around the piece that come together as a rainbow made it feel like there was a flow of energy to the piece. I wanted it to encourage the viewer to look at each part of the image and then see it as a whole.

Why do you think safe spaces for young people in liverpool are important?

I think one of the most valuable things for wellbeing is to know yourself. To know who you are and have the confidence to be that person. Not everyone is in a position where they can do that – they might be having a difficult time at home, they might be struggling in school, or they might just feel a bit lost. A safe space where they know that they’ll be accepted as they are gives young people somewhere they can just let go and feel okay in their own skin. They don’t have to think about the pressures in their life, they don’t have to put on a mask, they can just be.

What is something new you learnt making this?

I learned that I like making larger pieces! At first I was a bit intimidated by the idea of filling a space that size (and it’s not even that big!). I wasn’t sure how I could make it eye-catching, what style to go for, how to colour it, what I could even draw that would represent all that Comics Youth does! But once I got into it I realised having a large space to work with allowed me to fit in lots of things, so it was no longer just one illustration – it was more like a collection of things.