Youth Development

Young people are showing up and speaking out on so many issues facing their communities -- from displacement to environmental justice to systemic violence and more. They are, quite literally, the future of the creative placemaking field. As adults, we must support the creative work of youth, cede power where possible, and uplift their visions for the future.

In July 2020, ArtPlace America partnered with Creative Generation to lead a research initiative focused on arts, culture, and youth development. Building on the incredible depth and breadth of evidence that exists in the fields of arts education and creative youth development, this work explored the intersections of creative youth development, creative placemaking, and community development through community based, youth- and practitioner-led methods. Much is known about the critical value of the arts for young people; the prospect of layering in a place-based lens, however, and thereby building a broader understanding of the way the next generation can transform communities through their creative endeavors, inspired further inquiry.

Creative Generation was founded in April 2019 as a research initiative and has grown through its work in the United States and around the world. Through pioneering research in the arts and cultural education field – and the relentless assertion that young creatives can change the world by catalyzing creative local solutions to global challenges – the organization has supported projects from San Diego to South Sudan, led by myriad stakeholders including artists, educators, community activists, and youth.  Creative Generation will continue to curate a suite of tools, resources, and responses to this research in 2021 and beyond. Visit the Creative Youth & Community Development resource center to learn more. 

Throughout 2020, a group of young creative people, their adult allies, and a team of researchers sought to answer the question, "What impact do creative youth have on communities?" Combining knowledge from a 15-person advisory committee, the extant literature in the fields of community development and youth development, and deep-dives into nine selected projects as case stories – each comprised of interviews, narratives, and artistic works – the resulting field scan presents three sets of findings: community benefits articulated in the words of young creatives, strategies for partnering to expand the reach of youth-led creative placemaking projects, and new ways of defining success.

The field scan concluded that unabashedly, young creatives believe their projects benefit both people and places and promote more just and thriving communities. Specifically, youth leading creative projects in their communities see a future where:

• Youth increase creativity and cultivate greater agency in themselves and others
• Communities (people and places) are more sustainable and responsive
• Youth-serving organizations honor personal identity and build collective belonging
• Places and their populations are healthier, safer, and better able to foster wellbeing
• Youth and adults catalyze intergenerational cultural continuity

Download the full report, Centering Creative Youth in Community Development: A Creative Placemaking Field Scan, to learn more. For additional resources produced as part of this research effort, be sure to visit the Creative Youth & Community Development website. Additional publications include:

• A Set of Case Stories of Creative Youth & Community Development Projects
• A Creative Youth & Community Development Literature Review
• The Guide: “What is a Creative Youth & Community Development Project?”
• Additional Suggested Readings