2025 Day of Learning: Artful Justice and Collective Action

This year’s symposium will continue the work of exploring how we can transition from learning to arts-driven action towards dismantling systems of oppression in our schools, communities, and city — with a goal of building a more inclusive, sustainable arts ecosystem.

The day will feature four topic “tracks,” each with two-part breakout sessions in the morning and afternoon to provide a deeper learning and activation experience. Attendees are asked to commit to and stay within one topic track throughout the day. Topic tracks include:

• Fundraising for grassroots nonprofits and community groups
• Crafting and supporting youth-led intergenerational research, discourse, and experiences using Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and hip-hop pedagogy
• Storytelling for social impact
• Working with multilingual learners, newcomer youth, and asylum seekers

These mini-cohort experiences will be bookended with plenary sessions at the start and end of the day facilitated by 651 ARTS Executive Director Toya Lillard. These plenary moments will seek to connect the dots between the sessions and the larger lens of equity and inclusion work in the arts and education landscapes. The event will also include a student performance and catered lunch and refreshments. View a schedule of the day’s programming below.

Stick around after the day’s programming and keep the conversation going during a social hour fostering community connections and networking!