ART RYSING: Testimony, Healing, and Discourse through University-Community Youth-Led Arts Partnerships in Baltimore

A core public purpose of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is fostering community partnerships that strengthen neighborhoods and drive equitable, sustainable progress. The Shriver Center advances this mission through engaged scholarship and applied learning, addressing critical challenges by bridging campus and community.

ART RYSING exemplifies this commitment. Co-created by UMBC’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center and WombWork Productions in response to the 2015 Baltimore uprising, the youth-led initiative uses arts-based expression to promote healing, racial justice, and empowerment.

Drawing on frameworks such as The Virtues Project, ART RYSING nurtures leadership and resilience through performance and visual arts. Supported by programs such as Youth in Action (The Choice Program), it culminates in a 2025 theater production, I Want to Live, addressing youth violence.

This session will explore the growing partnership, illustrating how culturally rooted, youth-driven arts engagement advances UMBC’s public purpose and creates lasting community impact.