This project involves teens in a creative arts based advocacy program which uses the creative arts (photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics) music, filmmaking, theater, & leadership skills training, as well as the mentorship of artists, university interns & community volunteers in a studio based experiential process.

During this open studio, teens learn firsthand the benefits of engaging in cross-cultural dialogues by addressing current societal events via their artistic work.   Annually, this experience culminates in ongoing community based art exhibitions for the purpose of offering youth the opportunity to display their solution oriented artistic responses to contemporary social issues.  Project Renaissance teen artists also participate in leadership training workshops, university based educational symposiums , filmmaking, neighborhood murals , fieldtrips and block parties. Project Renaissance not only supports youth participants, it also creates a community that becomes more enlightened to the issues that exist in the lives of today’s youth. 

Did You Know?

The Youth ARTS Development Project is a national research and demonstration study in which arts programs for at-risk youth in three cities (Atlanta, Portland, and San Antonio) were evaluated for their effectiveness by researchers provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Sponsored by Americans for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the U.S. Department of Justice, this controlled research study demonstrated that arts programs decrease youth’s involvement in delinquent behavior, increase academic achievement, and improve youth’s attitudes about themselves and their future. Info courtesy of: Americans for the arts.org-2002

  Program Components: