New Orleans, LA

A small community art project that developed into a wonderful, lasting resource for downtown New Orleans.

Young Aspirations/Young Artists (YA/YA) is rooted in the belief that the arts, when combined with entrepreneurship, are powerful vehicles for teaching young people and preparing them with essential life skills. YA/YA studio/gallery has provided young people training in design arts and entrepreneurial skills.

Nuts and Bolts:

• YA/YA studio is organized on a guild system: youth ages 14-24 apprentice to professional artists in various media including furniture design, painting, fabric screen-printing, and computer graphics.
• YA/YA artists are recruited as high school students and must maintain a "C" average or better to participate in the after school and weekend programs. Students who participate in travel programs must have a "B" average.
• 96% percent of YA/YA student artists are African-American, 2% are white, and 2% are Latino, proportionally representing Orleans Parish's public school populations.
• The majority of YA/YA students come from low-income households and attends schools with limited access to arts and educational resources.

Successes:

• YA/YA reaches 300-400 youth each year in New Orleans and cities across the United States through community outreach efforts.
• YA/YA uses the artists' guild system as a model for student participation through which older, more experienced members help to instruct younger artists. Further, the guild system proves that young people possess the potential for great leadership when they are entrusted with responsibilities. For instance, on April 6, 2002, YA/YA participated in the New Orleans Arts District's monthly gallery openings.
• YA/YA's unique art form and its programs have received exposure in over 60 national and international magazines, including Fortune, Rolling Stone, Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, Elle Decor, ArtNews, and Essence. More than 15 television programs have also given YA/YA a spotlight including Nick News, The Christopher Lawell Show, and Sesame Street.
• In 1999 the National Endowment for the Arts and the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities recognized YA/YA's excellence in programming with the "Coming Up Taller Award".
• YA/YA has thus helped to create a ripple effect across boundaries inspiring individuals and organizations to seek to create similar programs aimed at providing access to the creative arts for underserved youth.

Keys to Success:

• Taking advantage of established artist guild systems to acclimate youth to professional artist practices and norms.
• Giving youth opportunities to take a control over a project's success or failure.
• Engaging the business community, arts venues, and youth.

How can you do it?

• What existing professional support and development agencies exist for artists in your area? Can you approach them to discuss working with your target population?
• Think holistically about adapting your ideal program to meet the needs of the population you are trying to reach.
• Encourage the professional and business communities to recognize and partake in the accomplishments and achievements of your program's participants.

For more information on this program: Ya/Ya, Inc.