YA/YA

April 2006

Adair Margo, Chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) visits YA/YA

March 17th -- Chairman Margo visited one of YA/YA’s studio art programs at Capdau Charter School in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood. Middle school students shared the books that they are writing and illustrating about their “coming home stories” after hurricane Katrina. The PCAH announced that YA/YA will receive a grant from the President’s Committee “Coming Up Taller” program as seed money to build toward its future.

See YA/YA in print in the newly released book:

Beginner’s Guide to Community Based Arts (New Village Press, 2005), a new comics-illustrated training manual that visits ten communities across the country that are revitalizing themselves through art. Writer Mat Schwarzman and nationally syndicated cartoonist Keith Knight take the reader on an entertaining and informative journey to see how art can effect social change, ending in New Orleans with a local arts-based youth development group: YA/YA! The final and 10th chapter is about and by YA/YA with illustrations and narrative by youth artist Courtney Collins.

The book has evolved into the Crossroads Project, a national initiative to infuse community-based arts into public schools. Recently, Crossroads Project received funds from the Ford Foundation to help develop, manage, and document demonstration projects in the New Orleans public school system. Learn more.

Artist Spotlight

Space One Eleven youth artist

YA/YA shines its spotlight on youth and artists across the United States who gave their creative talent to help support our organization in the difficult times immediately following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Special thanks to these groups who raised money for YA/YA by making and selling artwork, collecting donations, hosting fashion shows, and playing music: Space One Eleven,
Art Table, Baldwin County Museum, the Foley Performing Arts Center, the Foley Public Library, Common Cents, Saving NOLA in NYC, and Betty Clark's t-shirt project.

Thank you from all of us at YA/YA!

Events:

Come see the YA/YA Artists and buy their hats at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in the Folklife Village from Friday, May 5th thru Sunday May, 7th

Special Message to the YA/YA Community

If you are a current YA/YA artist, YA/YA professional artist mentor, or a YA/YA partner, please contact Rondell Crier to update your contact information so that we can stay in touch with you.