January 24, 2018

The UW School of Social Work is hosting the Leadership and Liberation Exhibit in the School's First Floor Gallery at 4101 15th Ave. NE., from Jan. 18 to March 9, 2018, Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Arts Liberation and Leadership Institute is a one-week intensive summer program where youth are trained in artistry, social justice and organizing. Youth leaders develop as cultural workers in three arts pathways: spoken word poetry, music, and visual art. The pieces in this exhibit were created by the five students in the visual art pathway. They spent the week investigating the intersection of visual art and social change. They explored themes including identity, intersectionality, culture, hope, home and resistance to police, prisons, borders, homophobia and assimilation. This cohort of youth hones their arts and organizing skills, while deepening their understandings of race and social justice issues. They collaborate, build community and create art that challenges oppression and envisions a more just world. 

A reception, also open to the public, is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 2, 6–8 p.m.

The Arts Liberation and Leadership Institute (ALLI) is part of Arts Corps, a nationally recognized youth arts education organization that works to address the race and income-based opportunity gap in access to arts education. Through participation in our arts integration, out-of-school arts and teen leadership programs, youth experience the transformative power of creativity and gain a deepened belief in their own capacity to learn, take risks, persist and achieve. Art can be a personal act of liberation and when done collectively can transform schools, neighborhoods and beyond. Arts Corps programs are proven to foster creative and critical thinking skills as well as sense of belonging, connection, and a mindset for learning. Research evaluations also suggest that Arts Corps students are more engaged in school and test better in reading and math, an important contribution to closing the achievement gap.

For more information, contact James Miles at 206-722-5440 or james.miles@artscorps.org.