BREC is thrilled to introduce you to Charlee.

An incredibly articulate and eloquent young lady, meet Charlee, she’s sunshine in a bottle and another of our Kickstart my Arts project participants.

Charlee has loved coming to BREC as it’s super fun (and… we have snacks…) but also because people greet her and know her. There’s community and Charlee really appreciates it.

“My Mum knows people here and they know me now. When I do CircusKids Michele greets me and asks how I am. Nathan always wants to know what’s been happening and it makes me happy that they want to know how I am.”

Charlee likes art because it uses a different part of her brain. It tests her but in a fun and useful way, “Work time at Kickstart isn’t hard, not hard like math, it’s a different type of hard. It’s not like school when they tell you exactly what to do. Here you get given the canvas but you get to choose what you put on it.”

For Charlee, the people are a huge part of the project, “The people here are very nice and I enjoy being with them. Being friends with different types of people. Being yourself helps you make friends with new people.”

Charlee loves the challenge of being truly creative and felt her new friends helped her along the way, “It’s fun when you’re working together and all the activities we’ve been doing have taught me I am capable of doing different types of art. I’ve learned about me. I can do different things, different arts, and not worry about what people think.”

From her time here with us at BREC Charlee has learned that everyone has an artist inside them, “Everyone has an art side. If it’s not painting, maybe it’s storytelling, how they dress or even just scribbling. Anything can be art.”

Realising her own artistic talents has helped Charlee in more ways than she thought, “I learned how to present myself and other things like speaking in front of people. I can speak up and it’s okay.”

Charlee, you have been such an integral part to the Kickstart my Arts project and we are so thrilled that you appear to have gotten so much from coming.

We cannot wait to see what you do in your final project and where your artistic side takes you next.