Popular education
New youth grant program elevates community learning
Support for arts education is one of the longest standing efforts by the California Arts Council, dating all the way back to 1976, when the agency was first formed. Current grant program offerings help fund art in the classrooms, student field trips to arts and cultural experiences, and arts education training for teachers.
And, this grant season, there’s a new kid on the block.
Youth Arts Action builds upon the Arts Education Extension program offered by the California Arts Council from 2016 to 2018. Similar to Extension, Youth Arts Action offers support for arts programming for youth beyond the classroom. Eligible projects take place outside of school time, be it in the summer, or before or after school, and in artistic venues and community settings as well as on school sites.
But unlike its predecessor, Youth Arts Action has a broader focus, incorporating youth development as well as arts education. While traditional summer arts and after-school education projects are still very much a part of the program, projects are not required to comply with National Core Arts, California Visual and Performing Arts, Common Core, or Expanded Learning Standards — making the idea of arts learning more inclusive to different practices and settings. Funding is also available for projects serving youth from infancy up to and through age 24.
Youth Arts Action has a broader focus, incorporating youth development as well as arts education.
“Learning happens in a multitude of ways, and in different places outside of academia,” says Andrea Porras, Arts Program Specialist for the Youth Arts Action program. “Youth Arts Action is centered around the idea of popular education. The communities we live in help shape our youth in very significant ways. Relevant and authentic connection is a powerful tool for teaching.”
Projects in early learning, daycare or foster care environments; projects that support workforce development and entrepreneurship; and projects that teach traditional cultural practices to youth are all viable examples of Youth Arts Action grant recipients. The hands-on learning component welcomes a wide range of creative disciplines, recognizing nonwestern and youth culture art forms of hip-hop, zine-making, punk, podcasts, and digital photography, among others.
“The communities we live in help shape our youth in very significant ways. Relevant and authentic connection is a powerful tool for teaching.”
— Andrea Porras, Youth Arts Action Arts Program Specialist
Grants up to $18,000 are available to interested arts organizations. Applicant organizations without nonprofit status are able to utilize a fiscal sponsor — a feature now offered through all of the California Arts Council’s local assistance grant programs.
A portion of awarded funds can be used to compensate artists and arts workers contributing to the project — including the youth for which the project is intended.
“This program was developed through a lens of being of, by, and for the communities served by the projects we fund. We encourage organizations to reflect the youth population in their workforce, and to create projects for them and in collaboration with them. Youth Arts Action projects can be an entry point for young people making their place in the arts field, and lending their voices to their communities. It’s a passing of the torch,” says Porras.
To learn more about the Youth Arts Action grant opportunity, visit arts.ca.gov/programs/yaa.php. Apply by January 9.
