Elementor #22

Memphis Music Initiative & ELMA Philanthropies: A Case Story

Two students of the Memphis Music Initiative talk during rehearsal

In 2019, the Creative Youth Development (CYD) National Partnership engaged in a project to better understand the funding landscape of their field. To illustrate their findings, researchers connected with funders and CYD program leaders in four settings to better understand the dynamics of their partnerships.

The following case story showcases a partnership between a funder and a local CYD program, demonstrating the “funding skill” and “funding will” traits of the funder. (more…)

BAYCAT & The Golden State Warriors: A Case Story

Woman from BAYCAT working with video equipment

In 2019, the Creative Youth Development (CYD) National Partnership engaged in a project to better understand the funding landscape of their field. To illustrate their findings, researchers connected with funders and CYD program leaders in four settings to better understand the dynamics of their partnerships.

The following case story showcases a partnership between a funder and a local CYD program, demonstrating the “funding skill” and “funding will” traits of the funder. (more…)

The Heinz Endowments Launch Creative Learning Funding

Three young men standing together outside on a city sidewalk singing and playing a guitar

The Heinz Endowments’ Creative Learning initiative is a cross-sector strategy to cultivate an equitable creative arts and cultural learning network, improve access to transformative learning experiences for young people, and support meaningful professional opportunities for teaching artists in Pittsburgh’s out-of-school-time (OST) ecosystem. For the purpose of this initiative, creative learning will be defined as high-quality arts education in OST settings, with equitable access for the social, emotional and creative development of children and youth. (more…)

ArtPlace America and Creative Generation Announce New Research Initiative

Cheyenne River Youth Project’s RedCan Jam 2019. Photo: Justin Chotikul

The following post originally appeared on the ArtPlace blog on July 16, 2020.

By Jamie Hand, Director of Research Strategies, ArtPlace

Together, ArtPlace America and Creative Generation are pleased to announce a new research initiative focused on arts, culture, and youth development.

This partnership will explore the intersections of creative youth development, creative placemaking, and community development through community based, youth- and practitioner-led research. By the end of the year, a series of new web-based tools and resources will be created by and for practitioners operating in this space. (more…)

Introducing the CREATE, CONNECT, and CATALYZE Framework

I believe in the power and mystery of naming things.  Language has the capacity to transform our cells, rearrange our learned patterns of behavior and redirect our thinking.  I believe in naming what’s right in front of us because that is often what is most invisible. – Eve Ensler

Over the past five years, the CYD National Partnership has been invested in clearly defining who we are as a field, what we value, and how we can best articulate the many practices and outcomes associated with creative youth development. Documenting the beauty and depth of what transpires in creative youth development programs and understanding the crucial ingredients for success has been an important, yet elusive task.

As a field, we have wrestled with seeing how power and privilege is often associated with knowledge production, and we have been challenged to make this an inclusive process where youth perspectives, equity, and justice can be at the center of the work. At the same time, we know that as long as caring and skilled adult artists have mentored young people in their chosen art form, creative youth development practices have thrived in communities across the United States. (more…)