Daly City high schooler and Youth Arts fellow creates digital magazine For(e)thought Collective

Many years later, and still with a love for digital design, Chou is exploring this creativity further and taking advantage of the interconnectedness of the cyberworld. 

“My art is kind of solitary, I work out of my room a lot, so I wanted an opportunity to get connected with other artists,” Chou said. 

As the District 5 fellow, representing youth in the northern most part of the county, Chou’s yearlong project is For(e)thought Collective, an online journal that works to give students an opportunity to express their creativity and have it shared with the world. 

“He didn’t see it, so he made it,” Aimee Shapiro, executive director of the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture, said about Chou’s project. 

The first issue of the digital magazine is titled “reboot” and asks young artists what they think about the future. The theme was decided upon in recognition that young people are constantly adapting and responding to change, Chou said. 

Submissions will be collected from any artistic medium, and the group of high school students working with Chou also reflect an array of disciplines. 

“We’re poets, essay writers, web, fashion and graphic designers,” Chou said. “I think this is a really beautiful way to get different disciplines together.”

Two others on Chou’s team are also San Mateo County Youth Arts fellows. Kat Messner is the visual arts editor representing District 1 and Anoushka Swaminathan is the writing editor representing District 3. 

Others on the masthead are high school students from Connecticut, Texas, New Jersey and New York. 

While Chou said he has wanted to put together something like For(e)thought Collective in the past, having the county’s support, financial help and ability to connect him with other artists made it all the more feasible. 

A key aspect of the fellowship is to give young creatives a launching pad to bring their ideas to fruition, Shapiro said. It’s also to show students the viability of working in the arts.

“You can use your art to act, to engage with whomever you identify as your community,” Shapiro said. “We want to show it’s possible to use art to do that and you can have a job in the arts. That’s really important to show there is a possibility there.”

Chou’s fellowship project is the first created by the program’s fellows that lives in a virtual space, Shapiro said.

Online, the magazine has the ability to reach young artists beyond San Mateo County which furthers Chou’s goal of creating a community of young artists. 

“The reach that has … anyone with an internet connection can explore the project and I think it adds value to have perspective from youth from different backgrounds, living in different places in the country and the world.”

It also shows Chou’s ability to think outside of his own experience, Shapiro said. 

Chou described art as a powerful and honest tool that leaves an impact. His chosen medium of digital design is not only helping him explore his art form, but utilize it to connect with other young people who feel the same way. 

Visit www.forethoughtcollective.org to explore the digital magazine.