What’s it really like to grow up in Leelanau County in the year 2026? Next week, Leelanau Investing for Teens (LIFT) will give community members a one-night-only chance to see the answer, in the form of a first-of-its-kind exhibit at the Old Art Building (OAB) in Leland.

“I've been doing work with teens for the last 10 years, and they never cease to amaze me,” says LIFT Executive Director Rebekah TenBrink. “I wanted to find a way to share that feeling with our broader community. These are kids that are living, working, and existing in Leelanau County. We're all here together. So, a chance to really see each other is so important.”

That thought process led to Growing Up Leelanau, a new LIFT event that will see large-format portraits of 12 Leelanau teens displayed as a one-night exhibit at the OAB. The “elevated art show” event, which is scheduled for 6-8pm next Thursday, October 8, will double as a fundraiser for LIFT. Tickets are $50 per person and include access to the exhibit, as well as drinks, appetizers, and a “commemorative booklet” featuring students’ artwork.

For the project, TenBrink gave teens a simple prompt: pick just one place or thing that was extremely meaningful to them and their coming-of-age journey. Then, she commissioned a friend and photographer to shoot the students’ portraits, either set against the backdrop of their favorite places or featuring the objects or things they love most. Each portrait is also accompanied by a personal narrative, where students explain why they chose the photo concept they did.

The program is a first-time endeavor for TenBrink, who founded LIFT in 2017 under the umbrella of the Friendship Community Center in Suttons Bay. The goal back then was to provide more after-school and outside-of-school enrichment programming for middle and high school students in just that community. In the years since, the organization has expanded to serve all four public school districts in Leelanau County, including Glen Lake, Northport, and Leland. Earlier this year, LIFT established its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, going independent from the Friendship Community Center for the first time.

Over the years, LIFT programming has taken many forms, from games to field trips. The Growing Up Leelanau concept was inspired by “a really cool initiative called Photo Voice,” where students can take photos of anything and then write narratives about them. TenBrink says she’s tried out similar things within programming in the past, but never with this more structured approach – and never with the OAB show as the endgame.

“I was thinking about our students and how they relate to our community,” TenBrink says of the decision to shoot for an art show. “Teens are not often front and center in this world, let alone in a small community like this. So, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and shine a light on the incredible youth that we have here in Leelanau County, and what it's been like for them to be growing up here in 2026. What is their perspective?”

To unearth those perspectives, TenBrink sat down with each student and threw questions at them about their portraits. “I’d ask, ‘What are some of your favorite parts of this place? What are some memories you have of this object?’” she says.

Those conversations, in many cases, taught TenBrink a lot more about teens she’d already been working with for years. One teen turned out to be “an avid reader with this amazing collection of books,” and decided to feature that hobby in her portrait. Another student, this one hailing from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians community, decided to explore his talent for bead working.

“He is pictured in his regalia, of which he hand-made every single piece – just thousands and thousands of little tiny beads he has sewn together to make this beautiful art,” TenBrink says of the latter student. “We shot his portrait in the middle of the winter, so almost everything around him was white with snow, and then you have the stark contrast of all these colorful beads.”

While TenBrink says her students are “so nervous” about putting themselves out there with the OAB exhibit, she hopes the community comes out in droves anyway.

“I think it's so important for us all to learn from one another, whether young or old,” TenBrink concludes. “We all have things to share, and we can all learn from one another. To take time and show another human that they matter – especially a young person – I believe that is of utmost importance in a community like ours. It’s the greatest form of respect you can give.”