by: Jaime Torres-Lopez
Young people have important perspectives on the issues affecting their lives, but they are not always given meaningful opportunities to express them. Art can help change that. It allows young people to explore complex subjects, communicate ideas that may be difficult to put into words, and imagine what safer, healthier, and more inclusive communities could look like.
On September 10, Empower Yolo and Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA), in partnership with CommuniCare+Ole, will host a youth art showcase centered on the theme “Ending Sexual Violence and Promoting Safe and Healthy Relationships.” The event will feature original artwork by students from Pioneer High School and Woodland High School. The showcase is about more than displaying art. It is an opportunity to listen to young people and engage the broader community in conversations about respect, consent, equity, healthy relationships, harmful gender norms, and violence prevention.
“Art gives young people another way to communicate ideas and experiences that are sometimes difficult to put into words,” says Maria Elena Martinez, Lead Promotora at Empower Yolo. “Talking about sexual violence is difficult, but creative expression can help break the silence, examine the culture that allows violence to continue, and create opportunities for change.” Through their artwork, students can explore how gender roles, cultural expectations, and social influences shape relationships and communities. These reflections can help young people recognize unhealthy behaviors, understand consent and respect, challenge harmful gender norms, and share their hopes for healthier relationships. “Everyone has a role in preventing harm,” says Martinez. “Engaging boys and men in these conversations helps communities promote respect and support healthy relationships for all people.”
The showcase supports Empower Yolo’s broader prevention work through its Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program. The program uses community-driven and culturally responsive strategies to address social and community conditions that contribute to sexual violence, including harmful gender norms, inequity, economic insecurity, and intersecting forms of oppression.
Empower Yolo’s trained Promotores and RPE Advisory Committee work to prevent violence by engaging the community, connecting residents with programs that support economic security, and involving boys and men in promoting healthy gender norms and inclusivity.
The September showcase is only the beginning. This artwork will become part of a mobile art display that can be shared at schools, community organizations, public events, and other gathering places throughout Yolo County. By bringing students’ messages into different community settings, the display will extend the conversation beyond a single event and create ongoing opportunities for our community to reflect on the beliefs, expectations, and systems that shape relationships.
Promotores will help bring the display into the community, facilitate conversations, gather community perspectives, and connect the artwork’s messages to Empower Yolo’s broader prevention efforts. Their involvement will help ensure the display is accessible, culturally informed, and responsive to the communities it reaches.
“Art gives young people an opportunity to explore how strict gender expectations cause harm and how we, as a community, can work toward prevention,” says Martinez. “With guidance from the Promotores and Advisory Committee, we centered the showcase—and the mobile display that will follow—on healthy relationships, healthy gender norms, and inclusivity.”
Violence prevention is not the responsibility of one organization or one group of people. Families, educators, service providers, community leaders, boys, men, and people of all genders can help establish expectations of respect, accountability, equity, and consent. TANA is a particularly meaningful setting for this work. As a community-focused space dedicated to the creative and educational enrichment of local youth, TANA provides an environment where young people’s artwork, ideas, and perspectives can be seen and taken seriously.
Art can make difficult subjects more approachable while creating opportunities for reflection and dialogue. “TANA is a community-focused space dedicated to the creative and educational enrichment of local youth,” says Jose Arenas, Director at TANA. “Because of that mission, the themes of healthy relationships, violence prevention, and positive social change are a natural fit for the work we do and the values we promote.”
“Art is a powerful way to engage with complex or challenging topics and make them more accessible to young people and the broader community,” says Arenas. “Through art, youth can explore important issues in a way that feels meaningful and personal while also sharing their perspectives with others.” Most importantly, Empower Yolo wants participating students to know that their voices matter. The September 10 event will allow them to share their artwork with their families, educators, community leaders, and the broader community. Submitted pieces will also be included in future mobile art shows, allowing the students’ messages to continue reaching people beyond the event.
“We want students to know their voices matter,” says Martinez. “The artwork reflects students’ experiences, perspectives, creativity, and hopes for safer, more supportive, and violence-free communities.” Young people also need to see that adults are listening and taking their perspectives seriously. By attending the showcase, families, educators, community leaders, and other residents can demonstrate that youth voices have value and belong in community conversations about safety and social change.
“I hope young people see that their creative voices have a place in these conversations and that their perspectives have value,” says Arenas. “I also hope the showcase demonstrates how art can create opportunities for conversation, connection, and positive change.”
The showcase reminds us that prevention is not limited to responding after violence has occurred. Prevention means creating the conditions in which violence is less likely to happen. It means teaching and modeling healthy communication, respecting boundaries, promoting equity, challenging harmful gender expectations, and ensuring young people have safe places to express themselves.
Art cannot solve these issues by itself, but it can open a door. It can help someone see an issue differently, begin a difficult conversation, or recognize an experience beyond their own. It can also give young people a visible and valued role in shaping the future of their communities.
The “Ending Sexual Violence and Promoting Safe and Healthy Relationships” Youth Art Showcase will take place September 10, 2026, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer, 1224 Lemen Ave in Woodland. Community members are encouraged to attend, celebrate the participating students, and hear the messages expressed through their artwork. Empower Yolo is also seeking donated raffle prizes and sponsorships for student prizes. Attending or contributing is an opportunity to support young artists and affirm our shared commitment to safer, healthier, and more inclusive communities throughout Yolo County.
Jaime Torres-Lopez is a Mobile Client Navigator at Empower Yolo