Each year, Quaker schools across the East Coast (as well as one school in Canada) come together for the annual Quaker Youth Leadership Conference (QYLC). Each conference has a different host school and theme each year. This year, the conference was hosted by Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, with the theme being “Creat(ive) Change.” With Providence having deep historical ties with the arts, it was the perfect place to host a conference with this theme.
After a warm welcome (despite the cold, snowy weather) from the Moses Brown students, we all gathered in their auditorium to watch Sigh/Omelas, a one-man show performed by Moses Brown theater teacher Steve Kidd. The show combined elements from Ursula Le Guin’s short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and his personal experiences working at a summer camp for children with AIDS/HIV.
Sigh/Omelas begins with a child doing show and tell, talking about his experience at summer camp, and how he made a friend that he now talks to in the stars since they aren’t together anymore.
Eventually, the main character loses his vision as a complication from AIDS, passing away just before his fourteenth birthday. The last scene is from the perspective of his stepdad, who speaks to him in the stars just as his son once did earlier on.
Watching the show was a really unique experience, as I had known about children who went to these summer camps, but had never gotten to hear stories from them. Kidd has performed this show hundreds of times, so he managed to convey multiple characters of different ages flawlessly.
The next morning, our cohort, along with Brooklyn Friends School, began by going to Shea Fashion, a Non-Profit organization that serves the youth in the Providence community through fashion and sewing classes, eventually putting on a large fashion show for kids to demonstrate their talents. The company began in its simplest form as a fashion show put on at a local high school, with the show eventually growing to encompass other students and kids in the area.
After that, we went to Public Shop & Gallery and participated in an urban planning tour of Olneyville, a neighborhood in Rhode Island, with One Neighborhood Builders. Public Shop & Gallery is a communal space for artists to showcase and create new works. It provides a space for artists (both professionally trained and self-taught) to work, collaborate with one another, and also sell their work.
During the urban planning tour, we got to learn about affordable housing and a little bit about how the real estate market works. We learned about some of the areas that were going to be converted into affordable housing and the timeline for creating that infrastructure. We also got to learn about the business and paperwork side of building.
At the end of the day, the annual QYLC talent show happened. During the talent show, students from all different schools participate together in karaoke, original music, dance numbers, and even human bowling, a tradition that happens every year.
The following morning, before our departure, we participated in a bunch of student workshops hosted by both Moses Brown students and students from other schools. I participated in a zine-making workshop. Zines are small magazines, usually with a central message behind them and art inside.
Hosted by students from Moorestown Friends, they taught us the history behind zines, how to make them, and at the end, we had the chance to begin making some of our own. Other workshops included making a music collage, poetry, and resin jewelry making.
Although this is my last year getting to attend QYLC, I cannot wait to see what it looks like in the future. Next year, Moorestown Friends School in New Jersey will be hosting. I hope that the students who participate in the future continue to have an amazing time like I have had the past two years. Special thanks to Erin Bengston and Ashley Cleary for chaperoning and making this trip extra special!
Getting to be surrounded by other people from Quaker schools is a unique experience, and one that I will never get to have again. If you have any interest in going, I definitely recommend trying it out!
Helene • Mar 6, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Arts and quakerism complement each other extremely well! The essential traits of quakerism – simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equity, and stewardship lend themselves well to the very same themes many art forms explore. Integrating arts and quakerism in this school conference environment is a great way of bridging the gap between those familiar with one or the other. It also makes quaker ideals more interesting and concrete when seen in a play or seen in a zine, rather than just expressed in theoretical ways. For example for the SPICE of Community, a play that successfully displays the value of connection could truly show the importance
Anjali Holloman • Mar 5, 2026 at 1:05 pm
I really enjoyed this article, as someone who attended QYLC as well, I can say that this is an accurate reflection of the experience. I think it is important to connect with other students of Quaker schools because it helps make the community stronger. I also think it is fun and interesting to connect with new people over shared experiences at school, especially because Quaker schools are unique. I feel like AFS could incorporate Quakerism in more places at school besides meeting for worship, like in history classes teaching some Quaker history, or in other ways. The arts and Quaker values blend because Quakers believe in standing up for what they believe in, and the arts are a great way to express that in a peaceful manner.