Express. Inspire. Change.
Our mission is to ensure equitable access in every discipline of the arts. Whether it’s dance, music, or filmmaking, we strive to make a lasting impact in public education systems across the United States, and the students whose futures depend on them.
About Our Initiative: 100% Youth-Founded & Run
Young Artists 4 Equity (YAE) is an organization created to increase diversity & inclusion in the arts for disadvantaged young people across the United States. We are committed to dismantling exclusive systems that often make the arts inaccessible to thousands of schools. YAE works with arts high schools all over the country, connecting them to elementary schools with high portions of low-income, monolingual, and/or students of color who struggle to create long-term, substantially funded arts programs. We organize weekly volunteering sessions where teens become “arts mentors,” learning how to forge passions & uplift marginalized voices. In many of our schools, our K-5 students are often unable to have an art or music class for two weeks in a row, making it difficult to retain skills and stay motivated. Through our program, students in these communities have something to look forward to every week without fail. Our mentors strive to close equity gaps in the arts world, whether that be through making music, dance, art, or writing more inclusive and accessible to every child attending school in the United States.
Creating a Community of Good
As firm believers in diversity, inclusion, and creative freedom, we reflect those values in YAE's Youth Leadership Board, where artists aged 14-18 work together to realize our mission in their communities. By building an involved, productive network, we aim to challenge & dismantle stigmas surrounding arts representation. Through direct community engagement, we have reached 100+ students from our partner schools & organizations, and our leaders are constantly working to get more artists in communities across the country involved.
What Sets Us Apart
Although we started as a small club based in Denver, Colorado, our organization has grown to compose teams of youth changemakers aged 14-18 from across the nation. From members on our youth leadership board to our first-time volunteers, and every one of our mentors, we provide high-quality arts enrichment for younger students free of cost, and pursue long-term campaigns to revitalize arts programs in disadvantaged communities. We build lifelong connections of local support, friendship, & understanding, empowering both our students and our volunteers.
