March is Youth Art Month, a nationwide celebration that began in 1961 to highlight the importance of art education for students. Originally called Children’s Art Month, the program expanded across the country, and in 1969 it was renamed Youth Art Month to celebrate students of all ages, not just young children.   

This year’s theme, “The World Needs Art,” couldn’t be more true: art heals, inspires, and helps young people find their voices. In Cambridge’s Port neighborhood, the Community Art Center (CAC) has long served as a creative heartbeat, giving kids and teens a space to explore, express, and grow. CAC’s work aligns with our focus on centering Youth and Young Adult Success, helping young people access the networks and opportunities they need to achieve the life goals they choose. 

Leading CAC is Erin Muirhead McCarty, Executive Director since 2020. Erin combines expertise in fundraising and strategic partnerships with a deep love of art, having studied studio arts and art history at Virginia Commonwealth University and visual arts and restoration in Florence, Italy. Off the clock, she enjoys pop culture, travel, documentaries, and relies on her teenage daughters to keep up with viral trends. 

We sat down with Erin to hear how CAC’s youth programs open doors and change lives. Here’s what she had to say about nurturing creativity, building confidence, and supporting young artists. 

CAC started in 1937 in the basement of Newtowne Court, one of the nation’s first public housing developments, founded by parents who wanted arts access for their kids. The Art Center emerged during the depths of the Great Depression. At the time, the WPA-era Federal Art Project Community Art Centers initiative spurred the growth of a number of similar organizations. Only a handful of those centers still exist today. For nearly 90 years, CAC has remained a creative anchor in Cambridge’s Port neighborhood. 

From the beginning, CAC was built on a radical premise: art is not a luxury. It’s essential. 

Today, CAC continues that legacy, serving children, youth, and families. CAC centers those who’ve been impacted by oppressive systems and violent policies, especially Black and Brown youth, through accessible, high-impact arts programs grounded in creativity, social justice, and community connection. Youth programs serve as an entry point, guiding kids into broader community involvement. The Art Center functions not only as an arts organization, but as a trusted hub of cultural expression, intergenerational connection, and collective power. 

CAC’s programming is diverse and deeply community-rooted: 

Many youth start in our school-age program and transition into teen programs that offer paid stipends, early workforce development through art. 

Art can be a portal to exploring and affirming identities. Art can be a space for solitude, introspection, and meditation; it can also be a way to reveal truths, loud, and assertive. Young people in our programs use art to have fun, experiment, and reclaim joy; they also use it to confront contradictions, and resist injustices. 

What we’ve noticed is that in a world of overstimulation, digital consumption, and noise, young people are craving analog experiences. This is helping reset nervous systems. It’s a rare place to express all that youth are keeping bottled up: rage, anger, sadness, anxiety, excitement. 

Art teaches patience, collaboration, problem-solving, and confidence. It offers safe sanctuaries where ideas bloom, courage grows, and leadership skills emerge.  

To be honest, I didn’t know Youth Art Month was a thing! So, we’re happy to know about it now. The truth is, we are always in the mode of celebrating young people’s creativity and lifting up the arts. But we will certainly take every opportunity to celebrate! Youth Art Month reminds us why the Community Art Center exists. The designation certainly presents opportunity to advocate for increased and much-needed investment in the arts, it also invites reflection. It’s an opportunity to consider the role artistic expression plays in all of our lives, and the many ways design shapes how we move through the world. Youth Art Month celebrates what we witness every day in our space: young people discovering their voices, exploring their identities, contributing to their communities, and building confidence.  

The process of creating is inherently vulnerable. When someone makes art, they are exposing their ideas and thoughts to the world, and doing that meaningfully requires trust. This is often challenging for young people to do in a room of their peers. It can be difficult for adults, too.  

There are many stories of people who have been positively impacted through our programs, and we’ve certainly had youth from the Art Center go on to do very impressive things: win awards at Tribeca Film Festival, design footwear for major labels, act in series television shows, and even receive commendations from former First Lady Michelle Obama. 

But the moments that stay with me most are the quieter transformations; those that shift how a person perceives themselves. Those moments happen often in our studio classrooms, where youth come to know the Art Center as a safe place to test their ideas and let down their guard.  

I think about one young person who could only speak negatively of himself, until he connected with a teacher who shared similar interests, and a shared lived experience. Over time, he went from being someone who saw himself as incapable, to someone with grit and determination, carefully perfecting his sketches. He learned patience, and techniques from his teacher, and eventually became an enthusiastic illustrator. I was moved when I learned that his only request for Christmas that year was a sketchbook. Recently, teens in our Teen Media Program completed two films that received recognition and were selected for screening at national and international film festivals. These experiences can change the trajectory of a life, opening doors to new confidence, new possibilities, and sometimes entirely new futures. 

There are many ways people can get involved and support youth art programs. Community members can join CAC’s Board of Directors or Advisory Board, lead workshops or mentor young artists, donate materials, or support fundraising initiatives. Advocacy is also important; helping to increase funding for the arts can make a real difference. Even simply reaching out to organizations to ask about their needs can be a meaningful first step, as most youth art programs welcome passionate community members who recognize the vital space the arts create for young people. 

As we celebrate Youth Art Month, it’s clear that CAC’s programs do more than teach skills. They empower, heal, and inspire. Research from the National Endowment for the Arts shows that youth engaged in the arts are about 10 % more likely to complete rigorous classes such as calculus than peers with low arts involvement. Studies from ArtsEdSearch (Americans for the Arts / Arts Education Partnership) also link arts participation with positive socialemotional outcomes, including empathy, teamwork, and stronger interpersonal skills. These findings highlight that art is far more than creative play; it’s a tool for academic success, emotional resilience, and personal growth, perfectly reflecting CAC’s mission of empowering young people through the arts.