This year, the Wallace Foundation announced the publication of two new youth arts reports: Well-being and Well-becoming Through the Arts: A Picture of Mattering for Youth of Color and Stitching Together the Threads: A Cross-Disciplinary Literature Review on Youth Arts and Well-Being. The Association of Arts Administration Educators is a proud communication partner of the Wallace Foundation.
WELL-BEING AND WELL-BECOMING THROUGH THE ARTS
Well-being and Well-becoming Through the Arts: A Picture of Mattering for Youth of Color identifies seven key elements of culture-centered, community-based youth arts (CCYA) programs that can provide a sense of belonging, identity affirmation, and skill development.
A team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh set out to explore the values and goals that these community-based arts organizations brought to the design of their programs. Through their work they have defined CCYA programs as initiatives that integrate high-quality arts learning experiences with community-based youth development practices and culturally sustaining approaches. They found that CCYA programs that promote and support youth development:
- Nurture Artistic Skill – Programs provide creative communities that develop skill and confidence in the arts
- Cultivate Creative Restoration – Programs engage youth’s minds and bodies in creative expressions that promote positive emotions
- Establish Artful Sanctuaries – Programs create sanctuaries for connection with artistic peers and adults
- Foster Generative Connections – Programs engage deeply with broader communities through performance and resource sharing
- Highlight Meaningful Pathways – Programs support pathways into becoming an adult who appreciates and values the arts
- Promote Cultural Visibility – Programs acknowledge, affirm, and celebrate the past, present, and future of people of color
- Emphasize Equity Intentionality – Programs disrupt racial and economic barriers to arts experiences for youth of color
STITCHING TOGETHER THE THREADS
Stitching Together the Threads: A Cross-Disciplinary Literature Review on Youth Arts and Well-Being is a literature review that outlines key mechanisms for how youth arts engagement can contribute to well-being and identifies opportunities for future research.
Developed by RAND, this report reviews a fragmented research base to explore how arts engagement promotes the well-being of youth. Through analysis of existing research literature and insights from leaders in the field, the report establishes definitions of youth well-being. It also examines the specific ways that participating in arts activities might promote a young person’s well-being and how one might go about measuring this type of arts engagement. The researchers also raise opportunities to address gaps in the literature to better understand how arts engagement promotes well-being for young people.