The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS) will hold the official Launch Party to kick-off the beginning of National Youth Arts Week in Nova Scotia. The Launch Party will take place Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at AGNS, 1723 Hollis Street, Halifax. This is a free event, open to the public The evening will feature a line-up of talented youth performers and will be hosted by LaMeia Reddick and Dj R$ Smooth. To get a taste of the evening here are some of the performers: Ryan Somers aka R$ Smooth, started DJing at age 14. He has hosted the show “$mooth Groove$" on CKDU since 1998 and loves to help youth learn more about music, DJing and radio. The “In My Own Voice” (IMOVe) collective is a group of young people who use art as positive outlet to tell their own personal stories. Members of the group will be performing a number of original pieces including hip hop performances and spoken word. Lily Bateman is a 14 year old poet from Canning, Nova Scotia. She likes to explore youth issues in her poetry. Her message to young people is to be comfortable in your own skin. Johdeci is an 18 year old rap artist from Nova Scotia. He has already released 3 mix tapes and is currently working on his first album titled Renaissance. Rebecca Moore is a Mi'kmaq drummer, singer, as well as an amazing jewelry-maker, incorporation traditional Mi'lmaq crafts into modern fashion settings. Konyon Jallah aka Konyon Cash is a hip-hop/African dancer and rapper, following his dream of performing and becoming an RCMP officer. Nima Tabatabaei aka Dizzy - a rapper, beat-maker and graphic artist from Halifax, Dizzy recently launched his new album Constitution Year and is a rising force on the Halifax hip-hop scene.