Can art make a difference? This is a call for a new sense of interconnectivity among visual art programs in and out of schools. This common ground will be found in the embodiment of performance, critical reflection, and social change within art learning. One goal of this article is to encourage educators to use the "verbs of art" for…

In any community you can find people--often a lot of people--who value the arts and support the idea of providing a place where young people can share in creating artistic products. Community-based arts programs support positive youth development in city neighborhoods and in smaller towns across America. Research has found connections between…

Kirsten Cole, the Director of FUN (Family University) Afterschool Program at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, shares her experience of working with children in an afterschool program where nightly community meetings address topics the children want to discuss. The topics change, but the underlying themes are often the same: issues of…

The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) launched services under its Out-of-School Time (OST) Programs for Youth in September 2005, with the award of funds to support more than 500 programs across New York City. Together, DYCD and the city's nonprofit community, working closely with the New York City Department of…