The Creative Resilient Youth (CRY) group is a project-based creative design and organizing environment led by teenagers collaborating to make art related to teen mental health and inviting critical dialogue about intergenerational trauma. Teen participants work with one another and members of their communities to create socially engaged art projects responsive to their needs and those of their peers. The program’s adult facilitators teach lessons related to trauma theory, cultural studies, the health humanities, art history, collaborative design methods and collectivism. Through solo and collective projects, CRY teens learn best practices for designing for accessibility and social impact.

This initiative is supported by Added Velocity which is administered by Temple Contemporary at Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University and funded by the William Penn Foundation.