Blog Posts for Creative Youth Development

Thank you to the many people who have been blog contributors to, and readers of ArtsBlog over the years. ArtsBlog has long been a space where we uplifted stories from the field that demonstrated how the arts strengthen our communities socially, educationally, and economically; where trends and issues and controversies were called out; and advocacy tools were provided to help you make the case for more arts funding and favorable arts policies.

As part of Americans for the Arts’ recent Strategic Realignment Process, we were asked to evaluate our storytelling communications platforms and evolve the way we share content. As a result, we launched the Designing Our Destiny portal to explore new ways of telling stories and sharing information, one that is consistent with our longtime practice of, “No numbers without a story, and no stories without a number.”

As we put our energy into developing this platform and reevaluate our communications strategies, we have put ArtsBlog on hold. That is, you can read past blog posts, but we are not posting new ones. You can look to the Designing Our Destiny portal and our news items feed on the Americans for the Arts website for stories you would have seen in ArtsBlog in the past.

ArtsBlog will remain online through this year as we determine the best way to archive this valuable resource and the knowledge you’ve shared here.

As ever, we are grateful for your participation in ArtsBlog and thank you for your work in advancing the arts. It is important, and you are important for doing it.


Mr. Jonathan Herman

Getting Organized

Posted by Mr. Jonathan Herman, Sep 15, 2014 0 comments


Mr. Jonathan Herman

Jonathan_headshot Jonathan Herman

Young people have immense energy and a unique capacity to imagine, experiment, and take positive risks. But opportunities for them to develop their creativity and exercise these valuable qualities are in many cases limited.

Without opportunities to realize their own creative capacities, and thereby engage in the social and civic processes that directly affect their lives, young people are “at risk” of not realizing their own potential. And as a result our communities forgo the benefit of young people’s creativity, commitment, and leadership.

In an age of rapidly changing economic, social, technological, and environmental challenges (just to name a few), we need the talents of young people to help us innovate, renew, and build a brighter future.

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Denise Montgomery

Arts + Youth Development = Influence

Posted by Denise Montgomery, Sep 15, 2014 0 comments


Denise Montgomery

Denise Montgomery Denise Montgomery

We know what quality creative youth development (CYD) programs look like through our own work, thanks to model programs, and through publications such as Engaging Adolescents, Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs From Urban Youth and Other Experts, and The Mosaic Model for Youth Development through the Arts. So let’s just implement the principles and increase the number of young people who are benefiting from such programs.

If only it were that simple.

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Erik Holmgren

The History Behind Creative Youth Development: The Closest Thing to a Universal Language

Posted by Erik Holmgren, Sep 15, 2014 1 comment


Erik Holmgren

August 4, 2014 was the 180th Birthday of John Venn. If you’ve ever sat through a PowerPoint presentation, chances are you know John’s work. A Venn Diagram is a way of visually depicting the intersection of ideas, concepts or, in the case of Creative Youth Development, sectors of work.

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Mr. Jeff M. Poulin

A Future for Creative Youth Development

Posted by Mr. Jeff M. Poulin, Sep 15, 2014 1 comment


Mr. Jeff M. Poulin

Jeff Poulin Jeff Poulin

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Arts Education Partnership’s annual National Forum. Aside from the connecting with arts education friends and learning tons (I mean tons!) in the sessions, I also had the opportunity to sit in on a session titled, “Fostering Student Success by Leveraging the Impact of Out of School Time, Creative Youth Development Programs.” What was great about the session was the interconnectivity of people, research and agenda from so many other national conversations which were initiated as a result of the policy and advocacy agenda produced after the first National Summit on Creative Youth Development in Boston.

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Caleb Way

We Know What You Did Last Summer: Arts and Business Council of New York’s Multicultural Arts Management Internship Program

Posted by Caleb Way, Sep 12, 2014 0 comments


Caleb Way

Caleb Way Caleb Way

This summer, eleven students descended upon New York City from all over the country with an arts administration gleam in their eyes. Different backgrounds, interests, schools, majors, and futures all converged at Con Edison’s headquarters in Union Square to kick off what would prove to be a very rewarding shared experience.

The Arts and Business Council of New York’s Multicultural Arts Management Internship Program places students and recent graduates at host arts organizations throughout the city. Participants find themselves thrust into a bustling and fast-paced city while working in various departments of institutions that are doing great work to enhance every discipline of the arts. As the students settle into their various organizations and departments, from development to programming to marketing, they not only rely on the support of their fellow peers but also on support from a volunteer mentor from the New York business community. This relationship is another avenue of development and investment–one that provides guidance as each intern navigates a new role, a new city, and their future plans.

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Ms. Marna Stalcup

The data is in: The arts boost student learning, particularly for English Language Learners

Posted by Ms. Marna Stalcup, Sep 10, 2014 1 comment


Ms. Marna Stalcup

Arts instruction has long been used as a tool for reaching English Language Learners. In fact, the origins of the children’s theatre genre lie in the Settlement Houses of Chicago in the early Twentieth Century, where Jane Addams utilized theatre and poetry to help students learn English (this tradition can be seen today in the plethora of children’s books adapted for the stage.)

There is a wealth of information available today about the usefulness of the arts for reaching multiple learning styles but there are few studies that directly link arts integration with student test scores (particularly long-term, richly collaborative integration models).

It is fitting that the week before National Arts in Education Week (September 15 – 19), The Right Brain Initiative is releasing new data that demonstrates the impact of rich classroom arts-integrated instruction on student test scores.

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