Dancing Grounds (DG) is a multigenerational arts organization that brings inclusive and accessible dance programs to New Orleans residents of all ages. With youth dance companies, summer camps, and the annual Dance for Social Change Festival, DG creates safe and celebratory spaces in which the lived experiences of youth are truly valued and their unique creative talents are recognized, developed, and celebrated. Since 2012, DG has become a driving force for arts and education in New Orleans and a hub for the local dance community, serving over 3,000 youth, 5,000 adults, and countless audience members. DG’s work is guided by a set of core values: equity, racial justice, integrity, relationships, learning, collaboration, abundance, and joy.

Damaging narratives regarding the United States/Mexico border birthed SEEDS Border Youth Dialogue, a center for youth engagement, leadership, and local arts incubation in Nogales, Arizona. The center offers documentary arts mentoring with youth, artist- and scholar-in-residence programs, and co-working lab space for young leaders and entrepreneurs. It represents an innovative partnership between the Southwest Folklife Alliance, the University of Arizona, and individuals and organizations in Nogales.

Performing Statistics is a cultural organizing project that uses art to model, imagine, and advocate for a world without youth. As a group of artists, advocates, and organizers, they connect young people impacted by the juvenile justice system with the community and systems leaders through the arts.

Juxtaposition Arts is a teen-staffed art and design center, gallery, retail shop, and artists’ studio space in North Minneapolis that develops community by engaging and employing young urban artists in hands-on education initiatives that create pathways to self-sufficiency while actualizing creative power.

The Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) gives children and teens the opportunities and tools they need for a future in which they do more than survive—they thrive. We are planting seeds for that future every day, through programs dedicated to holistic wellness, job and life skills, and strengthening the connection our kids have to their Lakota culture. In the process, we are building our young people’s capacity to achieve and serve as both leaders and culture bearers for the Lakota Nation.

1Hood Media (1Hood) is a collective of socially-conscious artists and activists who utilize art to raise awareness on issues within the Pittsburgh community. 1Hood seeks to establish a platform for artistic expression in efforts to further the economic and creative advancement of artists, as well the active engagement of diverse audiences. Never censoring youth in their programming, 1Hood provides a safe space for youth to learn, grow, and tell their own stories. The artist-activist collective aims to be the vehicle that will identify, develop, and inspire the artists & activists of today and tomorrow.