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Jun 24, 2026
Open Studio Interview - Lens of Youth
Open Studio Interview - Lens of Youth
00:00
24:09
Transcript
0:00
One, two, three [upbeat piano music]
0:35
Hello, and welcome to the Open Studio interview. My name is Allie Marcus, and I'm sitting down today with Felicia Tiang and Florence Tiang of the local nonprofit, Lens of Youth.
0:45
Lens of Youth creates programs for families affected by intellectual or developmental differences, focused on sharing stories that deserve to be heard and understood.
0:54
Their signature program, Misunderstood Moments, brings real experiences of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities to life through storytelling and art, with the aim to raise awareness, spark compassion, and inspire meaningful action toward inclusion and understanding.
1:11
Florence and Felicia, thank you for being here today. Oh, thank you. It's so great to meet you. I want you to have the chance to explain your program, Misunderstood Moments, and its connection to the arts.
1:21
But first, tell us a little bit about yourselves. You're both seniors in high school, just became seniors in high school. How did you come to found a nonprofit as teenagers? Hi, Allie.
1:32
Thank you so much for having us today. It's great to meet you.
1:36
But before we begin, we want to acknowledge that everything we're sharing today is by the effort of so many of our volunteers, and we're so grateful to them and all the effort they put in to Misunderstood Moments.
1:46
And Florence and I are just here to be representatives of all the work we have together. So yeah, I am Felicia, and... I'm Florence... my twin sister.
1:55
[laughs] And we are both students from Skyline High School in the Issaquah School District, and also the founders of Lens of Youth and Misunderstood Moments, which is youth-led nonprofit, and Misunderstood Moments is the flagship program of Lens of Youth.
2:10
So to answer your question about how we actually became a nonprofit, it's actually a pretty funny story. We started out as a photography club because I love taking photos, it's my passion, in 2023.
2:22
That was in middle school. And then we started with fundraising photo sessions, and then donated the proceeds to a youth-led coding club.
2:30
And then one day, one of our clients asked us if we are a nonprofit, and that she could donate to us and double it with her company, I think, matching program. I think it was through Microsoft.
2:42
So that gave us the idea, and we decided to act on it and then kind of create more of an impact in our community because we wanted to actually do something that we're both passionate about.
2:51
And looking back, we're actually so grateful for that advice because we grew so much from it and learned so much.
2:56
So for the mission, um, it kind of came about because I always felt like this sense of injustice because people, um, I saw my peers with IEPs, um, getting misunderstood and kind of getting bullied and, like, being excluded, and but I couldn't really do anything individually because it was, like, so normalized already.
3:13
So I proposed that we can support the
3:16
IDD community, and our current volunteers all agreed to the mission, so we can advocate for them, um, through sharing their stories through our art and our lens, like Lens of Youth- [laughs]...
3:26
um, so that people can understand with more compassion and stuff. So the title Lens of Youth comes from your origin as a photography club. Yes, and then the Youth is from all the youth volunteers we have.
3:37
So let's talk about Misunderstood Moments and its focus on the arts. How did this come about? Oh, yeah. That's also a pretty long and winding story as well.
3:46
[laughs] So we started with actually supporting the ID community through volunteering with other organizations.
3:52
So after we established our mission, we just went out taking photos to support the community and also share more about our mission as a start, because honestly, we didn't know much about not-the-nonprofit world, so we were starting small.
4:05
But then these experiences were actually pretty valuable in our starting up 'cause it brought us closer to the community and got us to see what was valuable and what challenges existed.
4:15
So for example, we talked to a lot of parents who we talked to during the events.
4:20
Some parents often tell us that they don't come to social events with their child because they're scared of how others might react if they're overwhelmed and have an anxiety meltdown.
4:30
And another time, I overheard two parents talking about planning for a vacation.
4:34
Like, on the plane, they're worried about if their child becomes distressed and having to worry about other customers or flyers' experience and all of that.
4:44
It really stuck with me because it sounded so normal to them, and I feel like it really shouldn't be because they're just being themselves. They're born with this lifelong condition.
4:52
We also realized that they're constantly adapting to fit into the world with their everyday life, and people don't really try to understand them for who they are.
5:01
So many parents are, or care- caregivers are already pretty overwhelmed and busy with taking care of their child, and over time, some parents are just tired of explaining, correcting people about their conceptions, and also justifying their child's behavior to others.
5:18
And sometimes they don't even know why their child reacted to something in the moment because that understanding is so limited.
5:25
So Misunderstood Moments just gets real-life stories from the community itself and then shares it to show other people their perspectives to kind of create more understanding, and they can see beyond the behavior and actually understand the person behind it, you know?
5:39
So you, um, pair families up with artists? Oh, yeah. So we first get the stories from the community, and then we look for the youth in our community, and they give us the art for each story.
5:51
How do you identify and work with the families, and how do you find the artists? Um, so we ask, um, people in the IDD community if they would like to share their story, and we keep it anonymous if they would like to.
6:03
And we pair them with artists from the community, um, like, who maybe just wanna volunteer and help us with our mission. Um, and, like, once...
6:11
So first we get the story, and then we get it finalized, and then we publish it, and then we have to contact the artist who, like, want to help with us, and we can see, like, who really wants to do a specific story, and then they'll become the illustrator.
6:24
And we don't really, like, limit, like, put, like, restrictions on things on, like, how they illustrate it or, like, what type of media they wanna use.
6:31
But we do, like, make sure that the content that they draw is, um, presented and suitable for public display while also, like, respecting the st- the person who gave us the story's privacy and stuff.
6:42
And then they will give an artist statement to, like, explain their thought press- process through the art. And we also do have an art partner, called, uh, Ms.
6:49
Wenrei Zhang, and she is, like, an adult artist who has her art studio in Sammamish and Bellevue and that teaches students from K to 12, and it's been going for, like, 10 years now.
6:58
And so whenever we have questions about it, she's, like, a great support for us. And is that where you source your artists? Are they other youth in that program?
7:05
Uh, we do have artists that are from the Wenrei Art Studio, but we also have artists who are, like, outside of it and just wanna help and stuff. Yeah, some are even from international places, like in China. Really? Yeah.
7:16
So you find... People connect through your website to find the opportunity? Well, yeah. A lot of people do find us from there, but usually we started off using our interpersonal connection.
7:27
So we had friends in China who really loved our mission and wanted to apply themselves, and we actually got two stories from our friends in China. Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah.
7:36
And, and there's so much potential for it to become something people can engage with from anywhere. Yeah, definitely, 'cause all of our stories are on our website, and we share everything we do online.
7:45
And I just love how online has become a great place for people to actually see things beyond what they can experience in real life, you know? Yes. I would love to talk about the things you do in real life also.
7:57
I follow you on social media. Oh. So I know there are so many events going on through Lens of Youth. Can you tell us about how the events happen in the community?
8:06
We host and attend advocacy events, and we have our Bridges to the Arts programs.
8:11
So, um, as, like, an overall thing, advocacy events are, like, community-wide events with, like, a lot of people, just foot traffic that goes back and forth that share their message and the stories we collect from Misunderstood Moments to the community.
8:24
And so this is kind of the backstory of how the Bridges to the Arts event started.
8:28
So at, like, one community event, I believe it was the martial arts festival, um, after our, our table neighbor [laughs] after learning about our organization, um, they came and shared their nonprofit organization about how they used music to connect Eastern and Western cultures, and our mission kind of inspired them.
8:45
They were like, "Oh, we can use music to connect people." And so that's how our first free program to the IDD community came to life, and this is all thanks to Ms.
8:54
Carrie Wang and part of the Cross-Cultural Music Bridge Society, and that's how we started this part of our Misunderstood Moments program.
9:02
So moving on to today, our Bridges to the Arts programs offers four different types of art classes, which is Music Bridge, thanks to the Cross-Cultural Music Society; Dance Bridge, thanks to the Seattle Asian American Dance Association; and Art Bridge, which is the Wenrei Art Studio, um, our art partner; and Kung Fu Bridge, thanks to Transcend United.
9:22
So these classes are, like, all free to participants, and they're kinda designed to be welcoming to all individuals of all abilities.
9:30
And professional instructors lead all the classes except for Dance Bridge, so they're led by the youth, but there is a professional there s- to, like, help guide them, and the youth is kind of there to make, like, a better connection between the participants and the teachers.
9:43
And all the classes are supported by youth volunteers for interaction and assistance if it's necessary. So each week of the month is, like, a different art form.
9:52
On the first Saturdays we have Music Bridge, and then the second Sunday of each month we have Kung Fu Bridge. The third Sunday of each month is Dance Bridge, and the last Wednesday of each month is Art Bridge.
10:03
So that's kind of the overview of how all that came together and- And are those classes for all ages or a certain age range? Oh, yeah. All ages. Um, you just have to be older than six years old.
10:13
And do you attend all these events? I used to, but after- Yeah... a while we got a little bit busy, but we do have volunteers that go every week. How big is your group? Oh, yeah.
10:22
So we actually have a few tiers of volunteers. We have a kind of inner circle, which is me, Florence, our ambassadors, who are people that come to our weekly volunteer meetings and plan stuff.
10:33
Um, so that's our inner circle of volunteers. We have around 10 of them.
10:36
And then we have another layer of volunteers who just come to the events to help out a little bit, for example, like the farmers market, as I mentioned before.
10:46
And then we have even more wider circle who just come for the [laughs] volunteer hours. Tell me about the art that you practice personally.
10:55
Well, I used to do drawing, but then I discovered I can't draw a stick figure even perfectly, so I kinda dropped that. Um, I do play... I do invest myself a lot in viola.
11:06
I practice it, and I enjoy playing it and stuff, so yeah. Hey, don't sell yourself short. She's becoming the section leader of Evergreen Philharmonic. That's- Wow... our district orchestra, you know. Wow. Yeah.
11:18
Congratulations. Oh, thank you. [laughs] So you have been investing deeply in the viola. Um, yeah.
11:23
I also go to the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras, and I participate in the Seattle Chamber Music Society Youth Academy and- I also ran my own quartet for a bit. [laughs] What was that like?
11:36
Oh, it was, it was fun getting to work on a piece and preparing it for a competition, and ending up doing a performance of it for people in the community.
11:45
And I think it also connects to how, like, i- art can be used to connect people, because people who, like, also just didn't know classical music in general came.
11:54
And I thought it was kinda inspiring how, like, it can connect people even if you don't particularly understand it very well. And how about you? Oh, yeah. I love all sorts of art, actually. I do traditional art.
12:05
I delve a little bit into digital art. I also love other crafts, like 3D crafts, like knitting. I'm starting crochet this summer. [laughs] I also love doing clay things. Actually, I do so many forms of art.
12:17
I also love photography, as I mentioned before. So we are both artists, but kind of like different genres, you know? And that kind of also inspired the Bridges to the Arts, 'cause art's so great. I love art.
12:29
Yeah, she, like, hand-drew our, um, mascot and- Aw... our logo, I'm pretty sure. [laughs] Yeah, I find in working with artists that once you get going, you just splinter off in many directions.
12:40
There's, there's really no one I know who just does one medium. Mm-hmm. Definitely. Yeah. Oh, is the term, have you ever heard the term mixed media artists? Oh, yeah. Yes. I love mixed media.
12:50
I always laugh at that term, because what artist isn't a mixed media artist, you know? I know, right? Yeah.
12:54
So, um, going back to all your events, I'm curious about any lessons you've learned from, from this huge effort you're putting into this outreach. There's definitely, like, challenges to this part.
13:06
So, like, something that, like, always comes up that we need to learn from is, like, um, how some people, like, just, like, don't understand it and, um...
13:16
But after meeting with all the people and working through it, from the lessons we've learned, um, we've found out [laughs] people do care. You just need to, like, bring it to them so they can become more aware.
13:27
And so we had, like, a surveys about these. So we found out a lot of students, like, didn't have an opportunity to learn about IDD in the first place, because they didn't teach it at school.
13:36
And people who, like, do have exposure to people with IDD had, like, way better understandings to it. So with that, we learned that we probably do need to change our way of advocating for this.
13:48
So from this year on, we've started, um, starting to focus on creating opportunities for people to, like, connect more from the stories to reflect and understand.
13:56
So for example, there's this, like, event called the Issaquah School District, um, Shooting Stars basketball game.
14:01
It's where students from the LRC2 classroom from Skyline and East Lake get to come together, and then it's really inspi- it was really inspiring to see, um, that people were, like, cheering them on while they were on the court for playing basketball, and it just, like...
14:15
it was, like, reminded me that, um, people, when they have opportunities to connect, it's, like, really natural and, like, to be inclusive and stuff.
14:23
So our stories hopefully will just be, like, another platform where people can, um, learn from these experience, and, um, maybe if they don't encounter in real life, this can help kinda replace that.
14:34
[laughs] How do you manage this work while being full-time students? Ooh, honestly, a lot of our volunteers help us, you know, carry the brunt of it.
14:43
[laughs] Like, our inner team of 10 volunteers, they're all so great and awesome. They come and support us every single week, and while balancing extracurriculars. Like, I have a friend who's in robotics.
14:54
She does a lot [laughs] for us. And even with during the busy season, we just honestly try and spend as much time as we can to devote to Lens of You because we care so much about it, you know?
15:04
You sound like a nonprofit person. [laughs] [laughs] Okay, that's great. [laughs] What part of this work do you enjoy the most, and what do you find the most challenging? Ooh, great question.
15:14
So honestly, my favorite part of this work is when someone comes up to us after seeing our program and is like, "Wow, I really resonate with this. This is what I've been feeling all this time."
15:23
And it really shows us that we're actually doing something, you know? Like, we're doing something people can relate to, and actually creating change in the community, which is kind of the goal in the first place.
15:34
So I'm always so happy when I hear that. And I also love meeting with individuals and families who come and share their stories with us, because there's so much trust involved.
15:44
Like, they're sharing their own personal experiences when they are sometimes misunderstood in the community, and then trusting us to share it appropriately to everyone else for, like, a greater good.
15:54
You're building a kind of trust in the community. Yeah, definitely. And each story is so unique as well, so it always teaches someone new things that happen in real life.
16:04
Well, I think what you've been able to accomplish is really inspiring. I hope that when I grow up, I can be as articulate as you all are. [laughs] [laughs] I think you're far ahead of us in that, you know.
16:16
Well, I remember myself at 16, and, uh, wow, I just... There's no comparison. Uh, [laughs] um, so I'm curious, what advice do you have for teens who wanna help change the world?
16:28
What, what have you done that's, that's really worked, and how can others try it? Um, so our advice is to kinda start with something that you, like, actually care about.
16:36
Like, the only reason we've be able to go this far is because we care this much about this topic. And, um, y- first of all, always listen to the different perspective, the people who are affected.
16:46
And you don't exactly have to start with, like, something huge for the community. It can always just be doing something small, and you can use that to build up to something until you feel fully prepared for it.
16:56
And so if you wanna make, like, really meaningful change, it, a, a lot of times it doesn't start with, like, "Oh, wow, we have this whole gala for everyone to attend."
17:03
It's more like you can just have a conversation with someone and maybe, like, learn more, more on it on your own, or, like, a story, or until you can get an idea you can fully act on.
17:13
Yeah, and we also had so much advice from people who are more experienced from us. That definitely helped catapult ourselves more into action. Like, Council Member Conrad Lee, he's an icon. I love him.
17:24
He once shared to us, just, "Just keep going." It's like the Finding Dory, "Just keep swimming." And that really helped us along.
17:31
Like, we have to act on all opportunities, follow up on emails even if we get ghosted, and- [laughs] Yes, yes. That's true. Yes, and you have experience with that, too, yeah. Decades. Mm-hmm. Yes.
17:42
[laughs] And our also longtime supporter, Council Member O'Farrell from the city of Sammamish, she's the sweetest person ever. She was the first person who actually supported us.
17:50
She was like, "If email doesn't work, call. And if calling doesn't work, just go in person." And that's kind of what helped us really get out there, you know, even if it was scary.
18:00
So we've got connections with local leaders- Yes... who are encouraging you, and we've got breaking up the work into approachable size tasks. Yeah, definitely. Those both sound like things that help an artist as well.
18:13
[laughs] Yeah. Yeah. Like in a painting, tackle one section at a time. A painting. Yeah, or a piece in a quartet, right? Yeah. You don't try the whole thing at once, right? Yeah.
18:22
[laughs] Yeah, so what are you planning for your senior year and, and what happens when you graduate? Ooh, senior year. [laughs] Well, we're definitely gonna keep con- continue...
18:33
We're gonna keep expanding our community outreach. We're also bringing Misunderstood Moments into more schools, hopefully.
18:39
And as I mentioned earlier, in our surveys we found that 70% of our 116 responses, respondents said that they want to learn about IDD through a school-based program.
18:49
So, um, the feedback also showed that students like to learn through real-life stories rather than just, like, getting lectured at and, like, yapped at with PowerPoint slides.
18:56
So we're hoping to bring that into schools more. So, uh, we have brought Misunderstood Moments into some schools already, though, and the feedback showed us that the students do want to learn, actually.
19:07
So we think education is how we can start understanding early on. And by teaching people at a young age, we can build a more inclusive future for everybody.
19:16
And at the same time, we're also trying to get new volunteers so we can build the next generation of leaders in our organization.
19:22
[laughs] Um, and we already have younger volunteers taking on important roles, leading programs, coordinating events so we can continue this mission. Yeah, so once we graduate, which is scarily soon- Yeah...
19:33
hopefully Lens of Youth can continue without us. But we're definitely still gonna be involved. Like, we're going to come back every summer- Yeah...
19:40
help out with the website and things like that, check in how things are going. Because wherever we are, we can still support our mission and kind of spread wherever we go.
19:48
Like, if we hear someone in person maybe having a misconception, we can always correct them, because that's what this is all about, you know? Well, not really correcting, I suppose. More like just educating.
19:58
[laughs] Do you wanna share an experience from childhood or even more recently when you experienced a really deep connection to the arts? Ooh. As you know, I love so many different forms of art.
20:10
And although my memory from my childhood is pretty patchy, 'cause I have bad memory, I can definitely relate to a time when I had a deep connection now.
20:18
Like, through my photography, for example, I, as a person, I love small, small moments in life. Like, I see the light hitting something in this really specific way, and I just have to capture it in my mind, you know?
20:30
And photography really helps me with that, because I can just click of the camera, and then I get that specific moment. And I love that, because in life, nothing is ever, you know, exactly the same.
20:41
Like, even if I come back the exact same time the next day, that light's gonna be different. I just have to get it now.
20:47
Through my art, I can kind of express that love for small moments through what I draw or what I create and what I capture in my camera. Florence, do you wanna share anything? Um, well, I, I...
21:00
She ac- I don't know if she remembers this, but when I s- actually did used to take art lessons, I remember our teacher gave us this assignment to draw a starry night, um, except with your own version.
21:11
So I ended up drawing minions falling into lava in the starry night, whilst she drew, like, a cat staring into the sky, which made a lot more sense.
21:19
I remember just [laughs] seeing what everyone in our class drew for that assignment, and I was, like, the only one who thought of drawing lava, I guess. [laughs] But it really...
21:27
I think even when I was a kid I was kind of just like, "Oh, there's, like, a lot of different interpretations people could have from this. And, um, they can express them- their own ideas in different ways."
21:38
'Cause I remember asking a classmate, like, "Oh, why'd you draw this?" And she had this whole winding story about what it meant to her and why it connected to her.
21:45
So I thought it was interesting how art can be used to portray someone's own r- own inner thoughts, and it connects to music as well.
21:52
'Cause, um, even though it's true that maybe people play the same pieces 'cause, um, well, for violas especially, there's limited repertoire.
22:00
But [laughs] um, you can really experience the s- the stories in the piece on your own and connect it to your own personal, um, uh, moments in your life and turn it into your own, which is a connection to the arts.
22:12
And it's so fascinating how people can share it to other people with this craft that they hone for maybe a very long time. I think I actually remember that minion drawing. [laughs] That was funny. It sounds memorable.
22:24
Yeah. [laughs] So how can people engage with Lens of Youth if they're listening and wanna see a showcase or attend a BRIDGE event or support you in other ways?
22:33
Um, well, we have our website for Misunderstood Moments, which is, um, misunderstoodmoments.org. And it's a good place where we can d- you can see everything for it.
22:41
We have our stories, illustrations, YouTube videos, and the BRIDGES to the Arts programs on there. And you can...
22:48
on there, you can also sign up to be a storyteller, artist, or a volunteer, or get your organization to become an awareness ally. And of course, we have the donation page. [laughs] And- Always mention the donation. Yeah.
22:58
[laughs] Please support us, guys. And there's also, like, a orange button, specifically orange, that says Join on it to join our mailing list.
23:07
And under the Events tab, there is a button that shows all our upcoming events in case you're interested in going. And you can also find us on Instagram as just Lens of Youth and on Facebook as The Lens of Youth.
23:17
And our Gmail is
[email protected]
. So Facebook and our email have the The in front of it, and our Instagram doesn't have the The in front of it. [laughs] Yeah, those usernames were taken by then.
23:27
[laughs] Yeah, so please reach out if anyone is interested in joining this effort. And to be inclusive, you just, you have to act on the idea. It's really great to hear about your work.
23:37
I know that people who hear this are gonna feel like it's an incredible effort and a worthy one. Mm-hmm. And I'm excited to see what comes next from it. Yes, I hope so. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
23:47
We're so happy to be here, and we're so grateful to everyone who listened and who supported us throughout this long, winding journey. [laughs] Yes, maybe only just beginning. That's true.
23:56
[laughs] [outro music]
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