University of Washington (University of Washington, The Information School)

The University of Washington Information School, in partnership with the state library, King County Library System, and Echo Glen Children's Center for Juvenile Rehabilitation in Snoqualmie, will develop a three-part digital arts education program for youth in juvenile rehabilitation. The project aims to provide leadership opportunities to incarcerated youth by providing them access to the digital arts and virtual reality industry. The project team will begin building a coalition and mapping community assets to identify key figures in the community who can work with incarcerated youth and facilitate digital arts education. For the second part of the project, the team will co-design and present a workshop for youth to create concept art and stories for virtual reality. Finally, the team will co-curate an exhibition of the art for display in Echo Glen and in the nearby public library, enabling community dialog and further strengthening the coalition. Research data will be collected throughout the project.