Future Ex Youth (FXY), a new and quickly growing creative collective at LSU, began as the vision of two of its founding members. Local musicians Jack Redlich and Sam Ellis began throwing micro-raves at Yes We Cannibal in 2022, attracting the attention of a student who would go on to help establish FXY LSU.
Hill Vanduzee, a senior studying Film and Television, has been there since the very beginning and recounted his experience.
“I went to the first events FXY hosted at Yes We Cannibal. Jack and Sam put me on as a videographer/photographer when I expressed interest,” said Vanduzee. “I started taking pictures and videos of them, helping them with creating content. It’s been two years since then.”
From here, FXY created an Instagram page to showcase their events and creative endeavors. This helped the club reach even more LSU students, such as environmental engineering senior Leslie Castaneda. Castaneda may not be a creative by definition, but she still plays an integral role as treasurer of FXY LSU.
“One day I expressed interest in the vision and helping with the logistics of getting FXY established as a legitimate student organization,” said Castaneda. “Since then, we’ve been able to make great progress as an organization at LSU.”
FXY at LSU’s central and guiding principle is that everyone can create something when given the resources to do so. An art and sound debut recently hosted on campus gave students a taste of what skills they can gain and strengthen by being a part of the organization.
Hannah Malone, a senior studying Architecture, is a creative director for FXY LSU and hopes to ultimately cultivate a community that supports exploration and artistic expression.
“We are striving to make a creative melting pot for LSU Students,” said Malone. “There’s a beautiful creative scene here that often gets overlooked. I hope that FXY sheds more light on it and brings people together.”
FXY LSU is also garnering public support, with sponsorships from the likes of Red Bull, Empire Wings and RedCup LSU, a branch of college culture media company RedCup News. These successes so early in the club’s lifespan could be a hopeful sign for its future.
This shared vision has created deep connections among the club’s members, which proves the power of creating the spaces that you want to see.
“I’m aiming to become a Criminal Defense Attorney, so I want to have as much fun as possible now,” said Carin Kelly, a junior studying Sociology who manages operations and outreach for FXY LSU. “All these people are my friends, and I have fun just making content and cool things with them. They’re really creative people, and I love that because it’s very different than my day-to-day environments.”
FXY LSU’s next event is a free artist showcase at Yes We Cannibal on Thursday, September 26 at 6:30 p.m. To keep up with FXY LSU, you can follow them on Instagram: @fxylsu.
