Urbano Project

Urbano brings together urban teens and professional artists to ignite social change through collaborative works of contemporary art and performance. Together we develop future generations of artists and creative leaders committed to an equitable and sustainable Boston.

Established in 2009 and incorporated in 2012, Urbano’s innovative approach to engaging urban youth in the contemporary arts has made the organization a recognized leader in the field. Urbano was honored by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a Youth Program Award finalist in 2011 and 2012, and received the Massachusetts College of Art and Design Excellence in Art Education Award in 2012. Major funders include the National Endowment for the Arts, the Surdna Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and the Boston Foundation.

Urbano’s program objectives are to:

o Offer urban teens high-quality arts education experiences, including opportunities to develop an awareness and appreciation of contemporary arts and the role the arts can play to effect social change.

o Challenge teens to express a strengthened identity as active, powerful, and engaged citizens of Boston.

o Support teens to explore and pursue their interests and develop as young people with the greatest chance for social and personal success.

o Promote civic engagement through participatory and publicly sited works of art that address the major issues of our times.