Celebrating Young Entrepreneurs!
For the month of October, we are excited to feature Shaquille Young as our Young Belizean Entrepreneur!
Belmopan’s very own Shaquille Young, is a 25-year-old Tattoo and Visual Artist. In his teenage years he dreamt of becoming an Architect and focused all his energy being best at what he does. He graduated first in his class at the Belmopan Comprehensive School and then moved on to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Architecture at the
University of Belize. College being a place of finding one’s self is exactly where he discovered what he truly is passionate about; Art in the form of Tattooing. This passion would allow him to express himself and share his views to the world. Though tattooing was not viewed as art in mainstream culture, Mr. Young, at the time wide eyed and 18 years old embarked on what would become a life’s mission to change that perception.
In 2014, he ran a campaign of T-shirts printed ‘We will never regret our tattoos,’ as an attempt to promote self-love and acceptance in the community. He believes that tattooing is a form of storytelling which allows one to mark significant experiences of their lives for all to see. He is well known for his paintings of prominent Dancehall & Reggae artists and for his distinctly unique style that is captivating to say the least.
In 2015, he was award the title Belize Art Ambassador by the Ministry of Education’s Youth Department for his contributions to the Art community. He also collaborated with Oceana Belize to create his first Mural and likewise Galen University, Belize for his first ever art show. In 2016, Mr. Young and his then girlfriend saw a lack of Art being offered to Primary school students and organized an Art Camp titled ‘Artistic Antics’ to give back to the community. To this day, with seven years of tattooing under his belt, Mr. Young still views himself as a student of life. This is because he believes that there are ideas to be explored and lessons all around to be learned. Mr. Young shares a cozy home studio with his wife and fellow artist in the heart of Belmopan, decorated with some of his lifetime canvas work. #MenEmpowerment #YoungEntrepreneurs
His artwork is open to view on his Instagram account: z.art_ambassador Yansi Perez Young Shelly Blades Perez Sharon Flores Young Levi Douglas Hatto-Hembling
