Youth Programs
FREE literary and cultural arts programming for youth in Washtenaw County.
Along with our partners and supporters, FO's Initiative for Young Writers, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and Dzanc Books, our national and regional Youth Programs are dedicated to inspiring and educating our youth, and serving to build a community through language arts and creative thinking.
Our interdisciplinary programming aims to provide a forum and a space for young people to engage and immerse themselves in the power of the imagination, the wonder of the word, the art of the book, and the process of creative exploration.
Programs Offered:
Through our free studio workshops, kids—both big and small—can be inspired to enjoy and produce both collaborative and independent work, discovering new ways of bringing pen to paper, thought to passage, and innovative ideas into the world. We currently offer the following creative writing programs:
Roots & Wings: The Elementary Arts and Culture Program
EmpowerED: The Middle and High School Literary Arts and Critical Culture Program
Click on the buttons below to learn more about each program and to access their registration forms.
2024 / 2025 Youth Programming Schedule:
Fall (Oct 13 - Nov 10, 2024)
Winter (Jan 12 - Feb 2, 2025)
Spring (April 6 - May 4, 2025)
Summer (July 6 - July 27, 2025)
By providing free and accessible programming to our young people, and by focusing our curriculum on diverse perspectives and experiences, we aim to promote creativity, self-expression, and community connection, while addressing systemic inequities in access to the arts. Through our collaborative and inclusive programming model, we strive to inspire lifelong learning, cultivate empathy, and nurture a more inclusive and vibrant cultural landscape for all children in our community.
Our Supporters
Both our Roots & Wings Elementary Workshops and EmpowerED High School Workshops have been brought to you with the generous support of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and Dzanc Books, and curriculum curation by FO’s Initiative for Young Writers.