Creative Youth
Seattle's Office of Arts & Culture invests in teaching artists, educators and organizations that are working toward a stronger more vibrant creative youth culture. We do this through funding programs, professional development, cultural partnerships, public education initiatives, and other opportunities. We also support arts and cultural learning and events for our city's young people. In alignment with the City's Race and Social Justice Initiative, we work to eliminate institutional racism in our programs, policies and practices.
Arts Education
The Creative Advantage is a city-wide initiative to establish equitable access to arts education for each and every student in Seattle Public Schools. The Creative Advantage is made possible through a public-private partnership with Seattle Public Schools, the City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the Seattle Foundation, and community arts partners.
Visit the following sites for additional information on arts education and creative youth development resources:
Creative Youth Program Opportunities
Arts Partner Professional Development
The Creative Advantage invests in teaching artists and educators through workshops that deepen qualities of practice and foster community. This includes an annual School Arts Partner Summer Institute, Teaching Artist Meet-Ups, and Professional Learning Workshops. Emerging to established teaching artists, teachers, administrators, and youth development workers are invited to participate in these trainings presented in partnership with Seattle Art Museum. To receive information on upcoming trainings, please sign up for the monthly Arts Education e-newsletter.
Career Days for Teens and Young Adults
Career Days invite young people to discover and explore careers within Seattle's diverse creative sectors, including Literary Arts, Visual Arts, Film, and Music. These free-to-attend, one-day events provide young people ages 16 - 24 direct access to industry professionals through networking, experiential learning, engaging conversations, and performances.
Media Arts Skill Centers
The Creative Advantage supports Seattle Public Schools Media Arts Skill Center. The Skill Center is a pathway to creative economy jobs for 16-20-year-old Seattle Public Schools students. The Seattle Skills Center's new Media Arts Course offers creative, technical, and professional training for students interested in pursuing a career in Media Arts.
Career Connected Learning in the Arts
Our initiative supports career-connected learning in the arts, through Seattle Public Schools. This is a career awareness program for rising Seattle students to explore careers, meet a variety of industry professionals, and build an initial career and education plan.