Sebastian Barrera is a Chilean born musician, artist and community activist, who has captivated the hearts of many in the city by his ongoing efforts in transforming community based arts and social projects into day to day reality.  Barrera is currently working as a youth program coordinator for Boyle Street Community Services located in the inner-city hub of downtown Edmonton. He is also the President of the Parkdale Cromdale Community League, which he has utilized to house several arts and music projects. To add to his repertoire, Barerra is the creator of a social movement project, CreArt dedicated to providing free, accessible spaces to facilitate arts/ music based education for individuals who are looking for a positive outlet for self-expression. http://www.creartedmonton.com/

 

As an artist, “In my opinion artists have a big responsibility as communicators and they should work hard to be the voice of those who don’t have the ability to express themselves, and they should be activists working toward strong social changes.” - https://thepastisunwritten.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/art-builds-community/

 

As an activist, “People ask me, ‘How do you have time to get involved in so many projects?’ It’s because I’m not volunteering. It’s my way to live. And that is what’s different. And that’s what makes me be able to engage with community the way I do. I’m not there to donate my time…It’s the right thing to do because I am collecting those moments for my life and that makes me happy.” - http://facesofedmonton.com/post/135204425075/a-lot-of-people-say-i-dont-have-time-to

 

As being part of a community,  “To me, it’s important that in my life as an artist, my role is to belong to the community, and to work to make the community a safe space where everybody can express and where everybody can have an opportunity to say, ‘Here I am, this is my art and this is my expression’.” - http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-community-installs-murals-to-fight-graffiti

 

As an immigrant, Barrera sees our city as an opportunity for growth, the city "is multicultural but it is not integrated," - http://www.metronews.ca/news/edmonton/2016/05/16/edmonton-hero-sebastian-barrera-uses-music-to-reach-youth-.html

 

What comes next…

      “We need places for expression, whatever that expression is, let people express. Let’s take the sadness, the anger, let’s take it all and challenge our minds to be better.” -  http://ratcreek.org/recognizing-art-courage-and-innovation/