Bringing the arts to justice involved youth, and their work to the public
Help bring art
to these kids!
Youth Arts: UNLOCKED brings artists and arts workshops to justice-involved youth in Flint and Genesee County.
Our goal is to introduce artistic concepts and techniques as a means of connecting, expressing, learning, and discovery.
We offer workshops in the visual arts, spoken word poetry, theatre, dance and yoga. A separate gender-based program HerStory: UNLOCKED addresses the unmet needs of incarcerated girls.
Our workshops take place inside the Genesee County Juvenile Justice Center (GCJJC) and at the Learning Co-op in Flint, Michigan.
Each year we bring the artwork created in our workshops to the public through our exhibits and in books and videos available on our website.
Our Programs:
Herstory UNLOCKED
This project addresses the unmet needs of the young female residents, by enabling them to find their own voices...
VISUAL ARTS
In the Visual Arts Workshops the instructors do more than merely teach drawing skills...
YOGA WORKSHOPS
YAU brings weekly trauma-informed yoga workshops to the boys and girls at GCJJC.
THEATRE WORKSHOPS
Theatre Workshops introduce the youth to different forms of dramatic expression.
This Web site is funded in whole or in part through a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this Web site (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).
YOUTH ARTS: UNLOCKED
Funders & Supporters
2025/26
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Staff, Teaching Artists & Assistants, Interns and Volunteers – we are grateful for the opportunity to promote the well-being of justice-involved youth in Genesee County, Michigan. Promoting the well being of Youth Arts: Unlocked participants is not simple. It requires a multifaceted set of “actors” willing to take the stage and stand together. Thank you for supporting Youth Arts: Unlocked as an organization that builds the feeling of inclusion and self care through arts engagement.
2025/26 Sponsors
Making A Difference Together
Arts Heroes
($500 & above)
George Hamo, Dale & Denise Keipert, Linda Pylypiw, Ann & Khalil Saab, Mikki Silvey, Valdemar L. & Ada C. Washington,
Chuck Gurden, NorthGate/Andy Goggins, Jeff & Stephanie Leppien
Arts Champions
($250 & above)
Dr. Thomas & Kambra Miller, Arthur Spivack, Mary Hood, Marcia McGee, Canisha Bell, Loreli Smith
Arts Advocates
($50 & above)
Bella Kritz & Ernst Doebeli, Helen Davis, Dean & Jody Hayward, Mark & Debbie Kalandyks, Brett & Amy Lendzion, Edwin J. & Kristine L. Levy, Sandra Murphy, Peter and Ellen Nalven, Michael and Ginny Thorpe, Peter & Stacy Zolas, Revealing Ruth, Carolyn Boegner, Meghan Cherry, Harold Ford, John B. & Janice Henry, Mark Jagos, Steven and Pearl Kleiner, Kirk Liebengood, Carol Masse, Thomas Myers, Annette O’Malley, Justin Scanlon, Lisa & Dave Schultz, Mary Whaley, Shelley Spivack, Meghan Kelly, Dorothy Boone, Catherine C DeClercq, Gary & Terry Gebhardt, Sharyl & David Hilliard, Kenneth Randall, Canisha Norris, Ann and Brian Kita, James & Mary Jane Richardson, Tom & Danita Riker, Ryan/Flint Crepe Company, Jessica Hammon