Purpose: The rise of out-of-school youth arts organizations, especially those dedicated to addressing social issues with young people, suggests a growing need for spaces in which we prepare young people to creatively and critically shape their communities. While the popularity of these programs is certainly positive, it does little to tell us what…

In this lively and groundbreaking book, arts educator Marit Dewhurst examines why art is an effective way to engage students in thinking about the role they might play in addressing social injustice. Based on interviews and observations of sixteen high schoolers participating in an activist arts class at a New York City museum, Dewhurst identifies…

EIGHTY-SEVEN SUMMER MUSIC AND ART PROGRAMS FOR PUBLIC AND NONPUBLIC SCHOOL DISADVANTAGED FIRST TO SIXTH GRADERS WERE EVALUATED. THE PARTICIPANTS WERE SELECTED BECAUSE OF THEIR INTEREST AND THEIR ABILITY TO READ AT GRADE LEVEL. THE AIMS OF THE PROGRAMS WERE TO PROVIDE AN EXPERIENCE IN THE ARTS, IDENTIFY AND ENCOURAGE THE TALENTED, AND BROADEN THE…