​From Posters to Progress. Powered by Youth.

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Grades 5 - 12

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Now in its 18th year, LEAP’s Signature Public Art program evolves to meet the changing needs of youth expression. Centered on a social justice framework and culturally responsive pedagogy, this visual art-based poster design program invites students in upper elementary, middle, & high school to explore and cultivate identity, civic responsibility, and social wellness through the creation of Public Service Announcement (PSA) posters. The program inspires youth to create public art and positions creativity as a tool for advocacy, belonging, and joy.

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These posters are installed throughout the school and/or local community — empowering young artists to raise awareness and make change through collaborative, message-driven design. As a result, students develop meaningful connections to their peers, create inspiring spaces, and amplify social causes that they care about.

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At a community-based unveiling, students present their work and the stories behind them. By the end of the program, youth leave with sharpened communication skills, deeper self-awareness, and a tangible sense of their creative power as community changemakers.

 

​Social-Emotional Objectives: 

• Inspire youth to expand interests in social wellness and art & design

• Promote authentic engagement with self, class, and community

• Cultivate communal accountability and shared power

• Build peer-to-peer collaboration and collective decision-making

• Strengthen goal management, peer leadership and self-confidence 

• Foster creativity and challenge growth in visual artmaking

• Invest in healthy creative habits and community connection

 

Program Outcomes:

• Collaborate with their peers to create and design a PSA poster about a social cause

• Integrate a collaborative work of art into the community

• Build foundational skills in visual storytelling, design principles, and media literacy

• Understand the historical impact of how posters shape public awareness, political change and social progress

• Reduce digital dependency through purposeful, embodied creation