By Cora Secore

When I was a part of the Youth Workforce back when it was called PUGG in 2019, I knew a handful of young people looking for art-related work like I was. While many of them went out on paths I’d sparsely cross, one such fellow remained nearby and continues to work for MKAD. His name is Luke Mascalino, a hardworking and independent member of our team who largely exemplifies the natural evolution of experience and learning that comes with working through the Youth Workforce. Luke made for a particularly interesting perspective, as someone who does not consider himself an artist and yet remains so passionate about the arts and community.

“My favorite thing I do here is assist with kids’ classes,” Luke told me when introducing his work here, “Typical set-up and clean-up for classes, but kids classes tend to need more focus on particular students. Some of them might be struggling. It tends to be a bit more involved than adult classes.

“I like working with the kids, and this is a way that I get to do that. A lot of the same kids come to our kids’ classes so I get to watch them grow, as both an artist and as an individual. That’s just beautiful to get the chance to see.”

I asked Luke how his journey to this point got started. “I got started because I was placed in Summer Youth Employment,” Luke told me, “I checked art as one of the things that I was interested in and they wrote that off to mean ‘DRAW is your option.’ I got dropped in during one of the craziest summers we’ve ever had. We had this huge plastic project, if you remember. And from then on, The DRAW kept me on.”

When I asked Luke about how MKAD has contributed to him during his time here, he said: “It’s helped me grow. It’s been there for my later teens and all throughout my adult life so far. It’s given me a community, people to talk to when needed, who help me push up, especially when trying to get on my own feet as an adult.” Luke’s statements felt like corroborating Lance’s own sentiments about meeting his best friends here.

I had been told prior that Luke doesn’t consider himself an artist as much as the other staff members. Nevertheless, knowing his creative process when it comes to art was valuable information. “For me, it doesn’t look like much,” Luke laughed, “I don’t really make much work on my own. If I’m feeling creative, maybe I’ll embroider. I have a pair of pants I like to work on. I like linocutting. Not so much the printing of it, but the carving of it I enjoy. I like making cards and stuff. But that’s about where making art outside of work stops. [As subject matter] I tend to do animals or things I’m interested in at the time.”

I wanted to know what art, as a whole, meant to Luke. When I probed him about it, he told me this: “I guess art to me means community, since that’s how I’ve mainly seen art through. Connections, exploring yourself, or interests in topics you enjoy and a way to, however that art form is for you, to get whatever you’re talking about out into the world.”

“I’m trying to word it the best I can,” Luke initially said once I asked him what his definition of an artist is, “I guess the definition of an artist, for me, is someone who explores themselves or topics they enjoy creatively. Whether that be visual or audible, through writing… I think there’s many ways to be creative and be an artist in your own right.

“I don’t typically say I am [an artist] just because I often feel like I don’t fit that box. I mean, to some people I’d be considered one. But I guess I don’t consider myself one.”

I asked Luke about his relationship with the community of Kingston at large. “A big part of my relationship to the community is work, because we do so much community outreach,” Luke said, “I go to so many places and it’s really hard not to run into someone that you’ve met through The DRAW. You do so many events, you table so many things, you make so many connections. So it’s great to know people around town, have people know you, but I’m also involved in the queer community of Kingston and that’s definitely where I tend to be drawn into, since it’s kinda my people.”

Talking with Luke was like a reminder of my own origins working here, the way I worked up the ladder and found a place here doing some I truly love. Not just for my own enjoyment of course, but to the benefit of the arts-positive society we’ve built up all amongst each other. It was such a humble start for me, and without even realizing it, I steadily became a part of a larger collective of care and creation. Luke brought me back to my beginnings and refreshed my love for the finer details of the machinations behind this organization I respect so much.