Colorado youth • art • community
Young people have something to say.
Voices on Canvas helps youth turn ideas, lived experience and community questions into art, stories and public conversations. We pair creative practice with technology when it helps people connect—not because technology is the point.
What we do
Art opens the conversation.
Our work gives young people a practical way to explore identity, community and the issues around them. Projects may begin with a canvas, a camera, a conversation or a neighborhood question. They end with something that can be shared.
Youth arts & storytelling
Visual art, photography, audio, video and storytelling that help young people develop voice, confidence and communication skills.
Community dialogue
Creative projects that bring youth and adults into the same conversation about place, opportunity, health, safety and belonging.
Creative technology
Browser-based tools, QR experiences and augmented reality used to publish stories and connect residents to local resources without requiring a dedicated app.
Longstanding purpose, current tools
Youth voice has always been the center.
Voices on Canvas has served Colorado youth through art and community engagement since 2007. Today, the tools are expanding, but the idea stays simple: young people deserve meaningful ways to be heard and to help shape the communities around them.
East Colfax / Northwest Aurora
Community Health, Digital Equity & Opportunity Network
A proposed three-year initiative combining youth arts and storytelling, verified community resources, digital access, neighborhood engagement and accountable project management.
Technology is infrastructure, not the outcome.
Build & establish
Set governance, launch secure infrastructure, start youth programming, train ambassadors and establish baseline measures.
Expand & integrate
Add community access sites, deepen youth-created content, improve language access and strengthen partner feedback loops.
Sustain & replicate
Document outcomes, diversify recurring support and publish a practical model that can be sustained and adapted.
Proof before promises
We are building from work that already exists.
The proposed network builds on DACARC.org, existing WebAR capability and a Dayton Street Opportunity Center demonstration with 16 augmented community portraits. The next step is to turn those pieces into a professionally managed, measurable community system.
Accountability
A grant should strengthen the work, not obscure it.
We are organizing the proposed initiative around documented scopes of work, clear roles, privacy and data-minimization practices, measurable outcomes, accessible public information and nonprofit oversight of grant-funded activity.
Work with us
Bring youth voice into the room—and into the neighborhood.
We welcome conversations with youth-serving organizations, neighborhood groups, cultural partners, community access sites and funders interested in responsible, community-centered work.