Youth Justice Design Collaborative

Over the course of three weeks in July, artist Daniel Pizarro led eight New Haven-based teen artists in the creation of digital artwork. Drawing inspiration from the Black Panther Party’s independently funded Community News Service, which allowed the Panthers to share news about the Party on their own terms, the curriculum invited students to explore graphic design as a tool for activism, organizing and storytelling.

Adjusting to the health and safety risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the curriculum moved online – embracing the capacities of digital art and sharing content online as a means of distribution. Collectively, the students produced artwork reflective of the evolving, intersectional conversations that speak to resilience and self-determination of oppressed people throughout the world in the fight for liberation.

View the completed website of apprentice work:

www.y-j-d-c.org

Watch the SAP Facebook Live performance

Participating Artists

Abdulrahman Elrefaei, Ayo Engel-Halfkenny, Yamilett Hernandez, Adrian Huq, Ny’aire Johnson, Rowan King, Natalia Maria Padilla Castellanos, Jay Weston

Sponsored by

New Alliance Foundation, Yale University & individual friends of Artspace

Daniel is an Art Director and Graphic Artist with a practice centered on design strategy for social change. His most recent work is focused on establishing community-based workshops to engage youth in design-based solutions. While at the federal government, Daniel worked as a Design + Technology Fellow for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where he helped implement communication and branding strategies to support the Bureau’s mission of creating stronger regulation of financial markets after the financial crisis in 2008. Daniel received his MFA in Graphic Design from the Yale School of Art. Prior to Yale, he worked as an Art Director for Peace Over Violence where he oversaw the development and implementation of the organization’s rebrand, including a national sexual violence prevention education campaign. Through his work as a designer and advocate, Daniel hopes to support the creative potential of community-based partnerships to foster collaboration and elevate the needs of marginalized communities.