Library Partnership Inspires Teens to Use Art as Activism

Sophie is 16 years old, a sophomore at Rooted School, and one of the handful of teens who spent their summer learning how to use art as activism at the Library’s Young Artivists Club. The program was presented in partnership with Trinity City Arts, an educational nonprofit that empowers youth to engage with social justice through art.

“Before joining the artivism club, I knew that people used art in their activism, but I didn’t know there was a word for it,” Sophie said. “It was really interesting to learn about how powerful art can be in social justice and thinking about how we can use our art to change the issues that we care about.”

Trinity City began as an Afrofuturistic comic book, set in 2078 New Orleans, written and created by New Orleans teens. From there, Trinity City Arts expanded to Young Artivists Clubs at high schools and youth organizations around the city.

During their 6-week Library series, Sophie and her peers earned volunteer hours while creating a zine set within the Trinity City comic book world.

This summer marked Trinity City Arts’ third time partnering with the Library. According to Carolina Guadalupe, the nonprofit’s creative design director, the Library partnership has been, “hugely successful.”

“From the beginning of this project, we always knew we wanted to work with the Library,” she said. “The Library isn’t only a public service, we also see it as a public sanctuary, a safe space for young people to speak their minds and stand up for change.”

In each artivism workshop, Guadalupe said Trinity City Arts asks students to identify the negative narratives impacting their communities and imagine what it would be like if they could eliminate them.

“Then, we challenge them to advocate for making that change, for removing those harmful narratives,” she said. “That’s where the artivism comes in.”

For Guadalupe, the main goal is to show youth that art is powerful and that their voices can help impact their community in a positive way.

“I want them to know that they matter and that their experiences and thoughts and opinions matter,” Guadalupe said. “At the end of the day, we believe that children should be seen and that they must be heard. That’s the guiding light for everything we do.”

For Sophie, the Library’s Young Artivist Club empowered her to speak out about issues that she cares about, like climate change and coastal erosion.

“There’s so many bad and cruel things that are happening in the world. As much as I want to see things change, I never really thought I could make a difference,” Sophie said. “But, by being involved with artivism club, I felt like I was taking the first few steps into standing up against the way things are.”

During the summer series, Sophie and the other Young Artivist Club members learned about zines and how the DIY booklets have historically been used in acts of protests. Using Trinity City Comic’s original publication as a jumping off point, they developed a cast of characters to live within “New New Orleans,” a post-apocalyptic, water-logged city, suffering from extreme wealth inequality.

“At the end of the second Trinity City Comics issue, the main characters are busted out of jail and seek shelter in a sanctuary called Diff Town. The concept was inspired by the marooned colonies that enslaved people created, but in Diff Town, everyone is living with disabilities,” Guadalupe said.

Alongside the Diff Town prompt, the members of the Library’s Young Artivist Club were given the 10 principles of disability justice and asked to develop characters to live in this universe. Each member made their own character, which were compiled into a zine they decided to call “Diff Weekly.” From visual impairments to limb differences, the characters aren’t only defined by their disabilities, but also by what they bring to the community and how they help their fellow residents.

Youth programming librarian Caitlin Young helped facilitate the program. She said it was inspiring to watch the teens come out of their shells and work together on something they believed in.

“It’s very important to create a sense of civic responsibility and social responsibility in teens and young adults, and this program was a great opportunity to do that while meeting teens where they’re at,” Young said. “The Young Artivist Club shows them that the things they’re already interested in – like art and comics – are a way to help better the world.”

Partnering with Trinity City Arts gave the Library a unique opportunity to provide a creative outlet for teens, while also encouraging them to fight for the causes they believe in.

“I think the world can be pretty overwhelming right now, no matter how old you are. Working with Trinity City was a great way to inspire hope and show teens that they can do something to make change, and that there are people who want to hear what they have to say,” Young said.

Sophie drew the zine’s cover art, which she modeled after the front page of a newspaper.

“I don’t think it’s going to change the world or anything, but I’m proud of what we made,” she said. “I hope it does make some sort of difference. But, even if it doesn’t, I’m still happy that I was a part of it, and I think it’s good that it exists.

Trinity City Arts will host their annual Artivist Awards and fundraiser on Oct. 24 at Cafe Istanbul. Visit their website, trinitycityarts.org for details.