Who We Are

Mission

Move Youth Arts provides tools to motivate, inspire, and assist youth in developing artistic expression and personal empowerment. Together, we move through our personal, social, and global obstacles in creative ways.

Move Youth Arts’s classes allow youth to develop an inquiry into themselves, their personal and cultural history and their dialogue with the world. The program provides education and training in a variety of visual and performing arts, drawing on ancient traditions and contemporary forms. Our program seeks to bring together youth from various social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Together we have created a unique program for personal development and empowerment through arts education.

Background

Move Youth Arts is a 501 c3 non-profit arts and education organization. Move Youth Arts is fulfilling a crucial gap in arts education by providing innovative, cost effective programs and classroom instruction in Visual Arts, Music, Video Production, Dance, Health and Leadership Skills.

Move Youth Arts is an innovative, cost-effective arts education organization serving youth and 'at-risk' youth. Move Youth Arts provides tools to motivate, inspire, and assist youth in developing artistic expression and personal empowerment. Nikki Anderson and artists in the community in collaboration with the 418 Project founded Move Youth Arts in 2004.

Drawing on the vibrant arts community in Santa Cruz County, Move Youth Arts presents youth with creative alternatives to self-exploration, self-expression, and empowerment. Teachers from the community bring a fresh perspective into the alternative high school environment and students are responding positively.

Move Youth Arts has been operating for over 5 years through a contract with the County Office of Education, Alternative Education department, which serves Santa Cruz County. Move Youth Arts has working relations with and has taught at the following schools: Star Community, Yes, Juvenile Hall, Caesar Chaves, The Cottage (formally Vista), Dewitt Anderson, and Escuela Quetzal.

All classes are taught to State Standards and students receive corresponding credits for class hours attended. Most youth in the program are considered “high risk” or “at-risk” youth and they are in Independent Study working toward credits to graduate. If this program doesn’t receive funding students will have a harder time to obtain their credits to achieve their goal of graduation.