Our Impact

YA/YA CHANGES LIVES!

• Ninety-eight percent of students who join YA/YA graduate from high school, and 40% of those graduates continue their artistic development beyond high school.
• Most of our artists take their first trip outside Louisiana through YA/YA.
• YA/YA participants are more than twice as likely as their peers to become independent entrepreneurs.
• YA/YA has brought youth artists to over 15 international cities for art projects and exhibitions.
• Most YA/YA artists sell their first piece of artwork within one year of joining.
• Three of our five full-time staff members are YA/YA alumni.
• In the first half of 2009, YA/YA artwork has appeared in these public locations:
  • on the official Jazz Fest Congo Square T-shirt
  • in the Canal Street windows of Rubenstein's
  • on the cover of 63 Super Bowl bid books delivered to NFL team owners
  • in the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
  • on Mardi Gras bleachers facing St. Charles Avenue
  • in Lois Lambert Gallery in Los Angeles
  • in two separate exhibits at the Contemporary Art Center New Orleans; and
  • at the Louis Armstrong International Airport
• When surveyed, 95% of YA/YA alumni assert that the organization had a significant and lasting impact on their lives and success.
• YA/YA has become a national model for youth empowerment through art, inspiring the founding of over 20 similar organizations around the United States.
• 100% of YA/YA artists serve as positive role models in their communities and families, bringing beauty and strengh to the City of New Orleans!

just say YA/YA!