ART, MEDIA & CREATIVE EXPRESSION  

Throughout the year we use art to express and explore ideas, to ask questions, to reflect, to share, and to transform ourselves and each other. We collaborate with professional music producers, photographers, media-makers and poets to write and record songs, make visual art, screenprint t-shirts, shoot photography projects and films, write and perform poetry, choreograph dances, create public art, etc. Art supports us to take control of our own narratives: share and reflect on our lived experiences; develop our radical imaginations; mobilize our communities for action; and celebrate our joyful and creative selves.

TRANSFORMATION & HEALING  

SJLA is a safe and loving space for youth to engage in the transformative work of self-discovery, identity development, and community care. In employing teens and supporting youth leaders, we intentionally work to disrupt patterns of toxicity and burnout within community activism and work — instead always centering joy and creativity, and holding space for land-based ceremony. Youth develop the skills to support the mental health of themselves and their loved ones, connect with the healing traditions of their own communities and lineages, tap into the healing potential already within us, and explore the intersections of collective healing, wellness, and justice.

POLITICAL EDUCATION

Through hands-on workshops and deep discussions, we develop our critical awareness and understanding of systems of power, privilege, and oppression. We learn about issues impacting our lives & communities, exploring policing, food insecurity, housing displacement and gentrification, incarceration, deportation, educational injustice, colonialism, gender and sexuality, and more. We learn about movements for liberation, and together we develop our visions for making our own community a more just, safe, and liberatory place.

YOUTH-LED ORGANIZING  

We organize for action! We learn about the roles that people play in movements, and consider each of our own skills and passions. Are you an artist, a warrior, a builder, a healer, a storyteller? What kind of power do you bring to your community? We learn skills and strategies for making change, research issues in our community and design our own creative actions and campaigns. At the end of the summer session we plan and host an epic public event for our families and neighbors, inviting them into our growing movement, as we prepare for building our campaigns throughout the year.

BUILDING THE MOVEMENT

The relationships we develop during SJLA are long-lasting: together we build a culture and community of openness and acceptance, trust and mutual support.  Every week we also connect with inspiring organizers, activists and artists in our city and beyond. We travel to meet other youth groups in the Hudson Valley, Albany, and New York City, sharing our songs and art, learning about other youth organizing efforts and media projects, and building relationships for future collaborations. SJLA is a family. Our partners include the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, Wildseed, Hudson Muslim Youth, Youth FX, Found Sound Nation, Wild Gather, Soul Fire Farm, Brotherhood Sister Sol, and more…

Kite’s Nest programs are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.