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MEET THE TEAM:

YOUTH ARTS ALLIANCE

A decade since our inception, Youth Arts Alliance is proud and excited to announce that our staff team growing to support our expanding community impact! In addition to the over 30 teaching artists we currently have the honor of  with, we are extremely proud and excited to announce that for the first time in our organization's history, we are fully staffed with an amazing full-time team!

We are so excited to welcome (from left) Adrianna Parent as our Operations Specialist, Dr. Makeda Turner as our Managing Director, Heather Martin as our Founding Director, and Chinelo Onuigbo as our Program Manager.

YAA serves young people and families in Washtenaw, Monroe, Jackson, Calhoun and Muskegon counties with high quality, healing centered arts programming. The collective people power of YAA is expanding our impact and deepening relationships in community! Including, more connection with you through our monthly newsletters!

Find out more about this amazing team dedicated to serving youth and families.
Youth Arts Alliance joins Michigan Center for Youth Justice and many other youth serving organizations and advocates in support of House Bill 4623 and Senate Bill (HB: 4624 / SB: 0418), which advocate for an increase in the Child Care Fund reimbursement rate to 75% for community-based services. This includes pre-arrest diversion, as well as respite and shelter care. This transformational shift in state funding will ensure communities have the necessary resources to adopt, implement, and consistently utilize a continuum of research-based approaches. It also aims to incentivize the use of treatment options that support young people while allowing them to remain in their homes. Additionally, the legislation promotes the use of risk screening and assessment tools to better inform court decisions.
YAA Impact Report: Superior Township
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Youth Arts Alliance provided 85 art boxes and creativity booklets to families in Sycamore Meadows. Last summer, YAA facilitated music and visual arts workshops on the green of Sycamore Meadows each week.

This year, through the support of Superior Township Parks and Recreation and dedicated ARPA dollars, YAA is offering year round programming to youth and families in Superior Township. 

In Spring, 36 young artists joined in weekly ceramics and music workshops. Over the course of 8 weeks, enthusiastic and talented young artists designed and finished dozens of ceramic sculptures, songs, learned basic skills in percussion, guitars and electronic music production at South Pointe Scholars school. Check out one of the songs produced here! 

This summer, 176 young people and families engaged in multi-disciplinary arts workshops at Ypsilanti District Library Superior Branch in the 8 week YAA Summer of HeART series and intensive YAA Theater Camp at South Pointe Scholars.  

This Fall, YAA responded to the participants' request for more theater and ceramics. While theater and ceramics workshops offered to community at South Pointe Scholars are full, YAA is offering weekly, drop-in Theater Workshops at YDL Superior Branch on Tuesdays, 3:30-5pm (details and registration here). 
Community Connection Investment
YAA recently had the honor of collaborating with young artists, actors, poets, directors and producers at the Washtenaw Alliance for Virtual Education (WAVE) to create fresh and exciting new work in a YAA residency. Check out our highlights!

The residency was made possible through support from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, University of Michigan Center for World Performance Studies, and the Washtenaw County Youth Center. Special shout out to our new partner WAVE for hosting and collaborating with us!

Hear what young people had to say about the workshop.

From our Program Manager Chinelo, "Seeing the collaborative space that was created at WAVE was powerful to say the least. The co-creative nature of the group allowed for beautiful forms of expression from youth participants. Folks were able to use the provided resources and expertise to bring their project visions to life. Everyone was able to find their place in the creative process; whether it was through film, writing, music, acting, or beyond. Being part of this experience as well as other summer programing reaffirmed the importance of having access to resources for creation and creative freedom for all ages, especially young folks."
As we celebrate the children, youth, young adults, and families that have been impacted by YAA over the last 10 years and still today, we look forward to the future!

Help us create a sustainable environment for the delivery of heart-full expression through artistic practices for years to come!
DONATE HERE
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