Black Belt Youth Arts Collective

BBYAC is an after school arts program for Youth in rural Alabama. We have cohorts in two rural towns that work on projects via workshop series throughout an 8 week period. Each workshop series includes at least one community artist partner to serve as a guide and one guest speaker, and it ends in a student-organized art show for family and friends. Through engagement in creative processes and BBYAC's programming and structural framework, we aim to: 1) Create sustainable community growth, 2) Engage existing rural arts community in the Black Belt region and connect it to a larger state and national network, 3) Utilize the creative process to promote emotional wellbeing and restorative healing, 4) Encourage youths' personal introspection, 5) Encourage youths' reflection/documentation/engagement of the world around them, 6) Assist Youth in building a personal and professional network, 7)Guarantee brave, safe, productive social spaces for rural Youth.