Session C2. I Will… Centering Youth Voice in Storytelling

Presenters:
Ashley Edinger, Creative Career Programs Coordinator, Sitar Arts Center
Chloe’ Smith-Morgan, Bloomberg Arts Intern, Sitar Arts Center
A’mirah Wallace, Bloomberg Arts Intern, Sitar Arts Center 

In a world where narratives shape power, opportunity, and belonging, whose voices are we centering when we tell the story of our work? In this interactive, youth-led session, Bloomberg Arts Interns from Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC invite participants to examine the guiding question: Which voices are centered in our stories, and how does this impact what is told, how it’s received, and how it’s retold and shared? Drawing from key practices in the Bloomberg Arts Internship—developing an artist statement or college essay, crafting an elevator pitch, and leading a culminating presentation—the interns will guide attendees through the very prompts that helped them clarify and claim their own voices. Participants will experience firsthand how these activities foreground student agency, strengthen authentic storytelling, and reshape how arts educators represent young people in narrative, fundraising, and program reporting. The session concludes with a spoken-word style call to action: “How will you center student voices in the stories you tell?” Attendees will leave with concrete, youth-tested strategies, and a personal commitment to amplifying student-led narratives in their work.