The National Guild for Community Arts Education has been approved for a $50,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the Creative Youth Development National Partnership. This project will foster systemic change through robust programs for young artists that prioritize youth leadership and voice, and are rooted in racial equity, social justice, and collective action. The CYD National Partnership’s project is among 1,073 projects across America, totaling nearly $25 million, that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.
“We are excited to continue supporting the growth of CYD Peer Networks in Austin, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan,” said Ashley Hare, the Guild’s Director of Leadership Development. “The pandemic last year was unexpected, but gave us more time together to recenter around the values of CYD, and ensure authentic relationship-building between youth and adult practitioners.”
Creative youth development (CYD) peer networks are localized (usually city, state, county, neighborhood) convenings of multiple CYD organizations from artistic mediums who are connecting with one another to learn, collaborate, and collectively advance CYD. Research has shown that peer learning networks facilitate the sharing of knowledge, ideas, and promising practices, resulting in long-term positive outcomes for participants, organizations, and the field. In 2020, the Partnership launched three Regional Peer Networks as well as the National Youth Network, which is made up of young people (ages 13-24) from across the United States. Learn more about the Partnership’s work to date.
In 2021, the Partnership’s work will include:
- Sustaining the growth of two Regional Peer Networks and the National Youth Network.
- Developing a CYD Self-Assessment Tool, which will allow organizations and networks to assess how well they are adhering to the values of creative youth development and provide them with action steps to better embody these values.
- Disseminating findings via an online learning series and other digital platforms.
- Producing the 4th annual National Young Artists Summit.
- Confronting adultism—behaviors and attitudes based on the assumptions that adults are better and more knowledgeable than young people, and entitled to act on behalf of young people without their agreement—especially in regards to how it can show up in creative youth development spaces.
- Authentically including members of the National Youth Network as part of the CYD National Partnership.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from the Creative Youth Development National Partnership,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “The CYD National Partnership is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.”
For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
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