Dear YAX friends and supporters,

We hope this message finds you healthy and positive in these rapidly changing times. We, of course, are feeling the impact of social distancing, but we understand that the best thing we can do to protect ourselves and each other is to take dramatic action now. Despite fear and anxiety regarding the unknown, we have seen some amazing images and stories from all over the world, showing people singing from their balconies, applauding their healthcare workers, and supporting each other and coming together as a global community. We should never forget our shared humanity and our hopefulness and optimism in times like these.

Our YAX Advisory Board has a message they would like to share with the YAX community:

We wanted to reach out to you in this moment of uncertainty we are living through to say that Youth Art Exchange is stronger than ever! Our dynamic Board of Directors is committed to supporting Raffaella, all of our staff, faculty and students, to continue to build our thriving youth-focused creative community.

To this end we are working to move opportunities to continue our classes and learning on-line and developing new ways to stay connected to the youth in our community, who we strongly believe are at the forefront of all of our futures. We see their wisdom, creative ideas and solutions as a gift to our community and look forward to growing together with all of you this year.

Please reach out with any questions you have - we want to hear from you.

Stay safe and healthy,

The YAX Board of Directors
Co-Chairs Trena Noval and Rodrigo Davies

We do recognize that the state of the world may be causing a level of anxiety, stress, hardship, and displacement in our community, so we encourage you to take the time you need for self-care so that you can take care of your needs and support the safety of others. What better way to engage in some fun self-care than to be creative and make some art? Here are some links to some DIY projects that we think you’ll enjoy doing at home!

How to make an 8-page zine
DIY popsicle stick hexagon shelf
Paint some happy little clouds and trees with Bob Ross! Or just sit back and enjoy his soothing voice.

We also want to take a moment to give a shoutout to our amazing faculty! This past week has been challenging for everyone, and we are committed to supporting our faculty both personally and professionally. We are constantly amazed by the great ideas faculty have shared in how they want to move their classes forward, and we are doing what we can to support those ideas. Starting next week, YAX students will be able to take their classes during their regularly scheduled class times, and we’re so grateful to our dedicated faculty and program staff for working quickly to make this happen! We'll also be hosting some online workshops open to the entire community, also led by our very own YAX faculty - stay tuned for more information!

Additional resources...

We’ve created a page on the YAX website with COVID-19 updates and resources - check it out!

If you’re an artist, this website provides resources for freelance arts workers. If you know of other resources, please reply and share with us. We’ll help spread the word through our social media channels!

Finally, it's important to acknowledge the influx of anti-Asian (specifically anti-Chinese) sentiments and remarks in San Francisco and beyond, as a result of COVID-19. YAX is committed to disrupting inequity and bias in our community, and we urge others to prevent the spread of harm by calling out xenophobic rhetoric that is surfacing. We want to provide tools and resources so that educators are prepared to have these conversations and equip themselves with historical context to navigate dialogue as necessary. Click here to access Teaching Tolerance's website for ways to address harmful discourse associated with COVID-19.

Stay healthy, stay positive, WASH YOUR HANDS, and snuggle your pets! Habibi says, “Hang in there, everyone!”