Community Art Center Youth Programs
119 Windsor Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
About
Community Art Center Youth Programs include a Teen Media Program, a teen planning committee for the Do It Your Damn Self!! Youth Film Festival, a Teen Public Art Program, and a School Age Child Care Program. Young people take part in art-making through drawing, writing, dancing, photography, pottery, and video, and can join public art, family engagement initiatives, special events, and classes and workshops for families. Activities also include art-making, music, food, and other organized activities in media and design computer labs.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Founded in 1937, Community Art Center Youth Programs have a long history as a neighborhood institution with intensive, year-round activities for youth ages 5–19. The programs follow a mission “to cultivate an engaged community of youth whose powerful artistic voices transform their lives, their neighborhoods, and their worlds.” Youth-led community programming engages local and national audiences through public art, family engagement initiatives, arts events, and the annual DIYDS!! (Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival), which is described as the longest running youth-produced film festival in the country and the oldest youth-curated film festival in the nation. The organization partners with students at Lesley Art + Design, and Michael Annear from Lesley Art + Design serves on the leadership team as a faculty advisor. The programs include a Circle of Support with wrap-around services, mental health and transportation services, and they serve up to three full meals a day. Media and design computer labs support the evolution of traditional art forms using new technologies, and the organization reports a strong record of retaining youth over several years, with many later returning as staff, parents, or board members.
Last updated March 5, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Founded in 1937, Community Art Center Youth Programs have a long history as a neighborhood institution with intensive, year-round activities for youth ages 5–19. The programs follow a mission “to cultivate an engaged community of youth whose powerful artistic voices transform their lives, their neighborhoods, and their worlds.” Youth-led community programming engages local and national audiences through public art, family engagement initiatives, arts events, and the annual DIYDS!! (Do It Your Damn Self!! National Youth Film Festival), which is described as the longest running youth-produced film festival in the country and the oldest youth-curated film festival in the nation. The organization partners with students at Lesley Art + Design, and Michael Annear from Lesley Art + Design serves on the leadership team as a faculty advisor. The programs include a Circle of Support with wrap-around services, mental health and transportation services, and they serve up to three full meals a day. Media and design computer labs support the evolution of traditional art forms using new technologies, and the organization reports a strong record of retaining youth over several years, with many later returning as staff, parents, or board members.
Last updated March 5, 2026.
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