Chrysalis Academy in Constantia launched a virtual photo album on their website on Monday June 29 to commemorate the school’s 20th anniversary this year.
Albert Fritz, Western Cape MEC for Community Safety, presented the album in a virtual media briefing on Monday.
Chrysalis Academy, an initiative of the provincial government, is a youth development academy, which runs a three-month residential programme for youth aged 18 to 25 from across the Western Cape from far afield as Beaufort West and Mossel Bay. Programmes include life skills, time spent in the outdoors, vocational and work readiness training plus therapeutic care aimed at supporting youth at a psychosocial level.
Over the course of the academy’s 20 years in operation, it has seen over 10 000 young people benefit from the programme, which includes a 12-month work placement upon graduation.
The virtual exhibition showcases photographs taken by students, graduates and staff.
Included are photos from the Chrysalis Youth Month Photo Exhibition initially displayed at the Artscape Theatre in 2017; photos from various photo clubs; and Italian photographer Alessandro Iovino’s collection of photos detailing daily activities at Chrysalis Academy.
The virtual exhibition will be an ongoing project for 2020, and new videos, artworks and essays will be added.
Chrysalis Academy’s CEO, Dr Lucille Meyer, said: “The photographs taken by the students show the creativity, innovation and flair that all young people possess if provided with a safe space within which to work, learn and explore their talents”.