Art in Action Youth Leadership Program uplifts and transforms the lives of young artists impacted by violence and poverty. Our annual summer camps and year-round programs create hope and opportunity through socially relevant popular education, community-building, and creative expression geared toward developing solutions. Art in Action provides a supportive, positive place for young leaders to cultivate leadership through dance, theater, music, spoken word/poetry, painting, storytelling, and media arts. For six years, we have been convening groups of 25 young people for a 5 to 10 day overnight experience. Workshops include, “Linking the Issues,” in which youth connect local to global issues. Participants choose from core groups: dance/theater; spoken word/music; and visual or media arts/giant puppets. To culminate, we join together in a performance that speaks to the critical issues of our time. Art in action is run primarily by women of color, and mostly serves working-class youth, with an emphasis on supporting queer youth and youth of color.