Denise Montgomery
We know what quality creative youth development (CYD) programs look like through our own work, thanks to model programs, and through publications such as Engaging Adolescents, Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts, and The Mosaic Model for Youth Development through the Arts. So let’s just implement the principles and increase the number of young people who are benefiting from such programs.
If only it were that simple.
We need resources. We need youth. We need trained teaching artists. Perhaps most of all, we need connections and influence. Stronger ties and involvement with the youth development community will help get us there, and will put the arts community in the position of contributing more broadly to the lives of young people.
Holistic solutions matter to creative youth development professionals because once you start to work with youth, it is impossible to ignore the many challenges they face. The arts have an opportunity to increase their impact on the lives of young people by connecting with youth development (YD) agencies and initiatives. Moreover, acting upon a comprehensive concern for youth will ultimately result in greater support for arts-based youth development.
Many of you know this and are actively engaged with the YD sector, from city and county agencies to afterschool alliances to workforce development organizations and Boys and Girls Clubs. Still, too many of us in the arts are missing the opportunity to form valuable connections and productive partnerships with youth development.
Some good news is that YD groups may be increasingly seeking and receptive to arts involvement as young people demonstrate interest and engagement in creative expression. The Search Institute, creator of the influential developmental assets for youth, learned through large-scale, national research on teens’ “sparks”—activities that ignite their passion—that arts are the number one area where adolescents have a spark or suspect they have a spark, outranking sports by a margin of almost two to one.
Driving Influence at Local Level
Youth development leaders are recognized specialists in the principles and practices that support young people in reaching their full potential. Through their work with and on behalf of local youth, YD groups are in touch with the specific needs and challenges of young people in their communities and with potential opportunities. As such, YD organizations are frequently at the forefront of communitywide initiatives focused on positive outcomes for youth.
The National League of Cities has cited the creation of youth master plans as an established trend among U.S. cities. Such plans wield influence on resource allocation, often for years at a time.
Scan the steering committee lists for youth master plans for any of the 30+ cities that have such plans, and you always see YD organization and agency representation. Public schools, library systems, and parks and recreation, all common partners for the arts community, are typically also included. What you don’t always see is participation from the arts community.
Nashville Leadership
The Metro Nashville Arts Commission (Metro Arts) actively participated in the development of Nashville’s Child and Youth Master Plan and grew in influence through the process. Jennifer Cole, Metro Arts Executive Director, stated, “We funded a group from the Oasis Center (a teen center) that examined transit access and used the arts to frame the case for the larger community. Our work wasn’t the only lever involved, but it was part of a series of partners who understood the larger [transit access] issue and championed it.” One result of this collective effort is that high school students in Nashville can now ride MTA buses without paying a fare by using their student IDs, thus reducing transportation barriers to accessing resources and after school programs.
Cole continued, “A major outgrowth of the plan is that Metro Arts now has a deep partnership with NAZA (Nashville After Zone Alliance), Mayor’s Office of Children and Youth, and Metro Public Schools around arts and cultural access for all kids.”
Collective Impact for Youth
Merita Irby of Forum for Youth Investment discussed the rise of influential local, cross-sector partnerships focused on youth when I interviewed her earlier this year for the article Creative Youth Development Movement Takes Hold. She stated, “These are high powered tables. This is where a lot of agendas get set. Much of the focus is on workforce development and academic preparation. Often, the community arts education players are not immediately present at the table. The arts are part of the solution, and they need to shine a light on that.”
“Mayors and other city leaders are playing key roles in collective impact initiatives across the nation through the development of youth master plans and cross-sector collaborations,” noted Clifford Johnson, executive director of the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at the National League of Cities. “These efforts can provide advocates for the arts with great opportunities to lift up their ideas and priorities on what children and youth need for full and healthy development.”
While arts organizations around the country are engaged in collective impact initiatives, this remains an area of opportunity for the arts to connect, contribute, and show leadership.
Many Paths to Connect
Recognizing that every community has a unique character and landscape, there are many possible points of connection for the arts and youth development sectors. Building relationships will naturally lead to identifying more paths for connection. Some ideas include:
- Get an introduction to a youth development leader from a mutual colleague or Board member and schedule a one-on-one, get to know each other meeting.
- Identify any child and youth master planning or collective impact efforts and participate in planning and implementation.
- Partner on a program, such as Denver’s 5 x 5 Program, a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Education and Children and local cultural organizations that the Office of Cultural Affairs helped to launch.
- Co-sponsor a forum with a youth development organization or agency as a professional development and community-building opportunity.
- Participate in youth summits, advocating for creative youth development to be part of the agenda.
- Start a summit on Arts for Youth and include your local YD organizations as partners and co-organizers.
- Fund high-quality arts programs taking place at or in partnership with YD organizations.
- Serve on the board of a youth development organization or on a YD commission.
- Invite youth development leaders to serve on arts committees and boards.
High Stakes
So what if nothing really changes? The threat of non-action is that the arts will miss out on influencing policies and accessing funds. Fewer young people will be involved in the arts, and other youth will have disappointing, mediocre arts experiences. Lastly, long-term interest and support for the arts will suffer as more people will lack engagement in high quality arts experiences.
Mutual Benefit
The basis of friendship is reciprocity. Through stronger ties with the youth development sector, the arts can gain political influence, recognition, awareness, funding, program impact, and diversified professional networks. In balance, the arts can contribute to youth development with quality programming, ties to neighborhoods, professional artists skilled at engaging youth, and 21st Century skill building.
Together the arts and youth development sectors have the potential for powerful and fruitful partnerships.
