YOUTH ARTS & CULTURAL ORGANIZING COLLECTIVES (YACOC) PROGRAM
Our El Puente Arts Collectives are intergenerational (High School and College Age) youth resident artist collectives. What makes our program unique is the integration of Pre-professional Visual, Performative and Digital Arts training and cultural community youth organizing training where all Art forms meet Healing and Social Justice Movements and the young people that gather, will take part in excavation of their story of self, as reflected in their ancestry, upbringing, relational connections, generational experience and their beliefs about life.
What do we do?
Alongside their internal reflections, the youth performers between the ages of Elementary, Middle School, High School - Late 20s the collective will widen their scope of exploration and creation with connecting their stories to larger Social Justice issues that impact their communities. Members will explore in communion the ways Colonization, Globalization and the effects of White Supremacy, Patriarchy and Capitalism impact and cause trauma to our lives and have pervasively done so for our ancestors before us. Members will open themselves to confront familia, societal and planetary wounds and use their artistic voice to re-member, release, and educate with and for community healing.
All creations and productions created by our Collective Members will be put on its feet in alignment with the Movement work led by the El Puente community and meant to be translatable from the stage to the streets, from schools to court houses.
Our aim is to teach our young people the power of the arts to not only supplement movement work, but to be central to the way the people’s voice shows up in full expression to our collective movements toward liberation, continuing in the Arts legacy at El Puente.
Our programming
The collectives consist of the following programs where youth will participate not only in classes for the arts but collective members will also participate in political education and cultural/community organizing training. Our young people will be trained not only to be held in high regard in the development of their artistic mastery, but also to utilize their art as a tool for healing and change in their communities.
LOS MURALISTAS
SOUTHSIDE SINGERS
(CANTANTES DE LOS SURES)
EL PUENTE DANCE ENSEMBLE
TEATRO EL PUENTE
WEPA! (Williamsburg El Puente All Stars) Kru
DIGITAL ARTS BRIGADE
In the calendar year, each Collective will participate in seasonal performance programming inclusive of Collective Shows (full length play performance, dance recital, breakers cypher, community chorus, visual art exhibitions), integration in actions/mobilizations, and site wide El Puente seasonal programming.