CITI PERFORMING ARTS CENTER TO HOST FREE CONFERENCE ENCOURAGING TEENS TO #LEADNOTFOLLOW

 Inaugural Youth Arts for Social Change Conference to be held on November 7

Citi Performing Arts Center announced today that its Teen Leadership Council will host its first annual Youth Arts for Social Change Conference (YASCC). The conference, titled #LeadNotFollow: Navigating Identity through Media and Art, seeks to spark a transformation in the way youth think about media, art, their identities, and social change. YASCC will be held onSaturday, November 7, 2015 at the Dudley Branch of the Boston Public Library from 10:00am to 4:00pm.

“The mission of our Teen Leadership Council is to empower teens to recognize and embrace their potential as creative leaders and community advocates,” said Josiah A. Spaulding, Jr., President & CEO of Citi Performing Arts Center. “This conference is just one example of how we’re using arts to drive social change and make a difference in communities across Boston.”

The Youth Arts for Social Change Conference is a free program, and all teens, organizations, and programs that work with young people, and those who support youth, students, artists, and activists, are welcome to attend. Topics include Forgotten Headlines: The Stories that Go Untold; #Nofilter: Do you show the real you through social media?; and Picturing the Future: How do we use the arts and media to spread social change?

When asked about the impact of the arts on social change, Teen Leader Jacarrea Garraway, 17, from Dorchester asked, “How can the arts not effect social change? If teens work together in a positive manner, and use the arts to achieve social justice, it will greatly impact the future.”

Richard Andujar, 17, from Roxbury said, “During the conference, we’ll talk about our identities and social media, and how easy it is to follow other people’s ideas. People hate what they don’t understand, so we want to talk about expressing what we think and feeling safe.”

The conference will feature presentations by Hyde Square Task Force, Theater Offensive, and Urbano Project, and will include a keynote panel with Anthony Thomas of Thomas Ent, Justin Kang of City Awake, Cedric Douglas of The Up Truck, and Thato Mwosa, Artist & Award-Winning Filmmaker. The Youth Arts for Social Change Conference is sponsored in part by the Fellowes Athenaeum Fund.

Click here to learn more about YASCC and learn more about Citi Performing Arts Center’s Education and Community programs here.

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