Canvas & Quill: Youth Leadership Circle
Beginning Spring 2026
We believe youth should not only participate in the arts but also lead the way in shaping how the arts live in their communities. Canvas & Quill: Youth Leadership Circle will be a program for teens and young adults (ages 15–24) who step into roles as decision-makers, organizers, and advocates for arts equity across Chicago.
Circle members will guide TCGC programming, design convenings that bring youth together across neighborhoods, and connect art with civic action and activism. They will receive stipends for their leadership, mentorship, and community organizing while experiencing hands-on opportunities to plan exhibitions, art workshops, and zine publications.
This program is about more than leadership training. It’s about centering youth voices in decision-making, building platforms for Black and Brown queer and gender diverse youth to reclaim narratives, and creating sustainable pathways for young people to see themselves as cultural leaders and community organizers.
Canvas & Quill: Youth Leadership Circle will ensure that the next generation of Chicago artists and activists not only make art, but also shape policy, build solidarity, and challenge systems of exclusion.
Interested in joining the Youth Leadership Circle?
Email us at youthleaders@tcgchicago.org with your name, age, neighborhood, and a short note about why you’d like to be involved. We’ll follow up with more information as this program develops!