EDTalks: Youth Artistic Expression and Social Change

EDTalksMN

As a spoken word artist and educator, Frank Gardner has seen first-hand the power of young people who are harnessing artistic expression as a tool for social change, interpersonal reflection and community building. In his EDTalk he explores how young people are processing the tumultuous years of COVID quarantine and the murder of George Floyd through Spoken Word, poetry, theater, songwriting and activism, such as school walkouts. He shares how he utilizes youth voice and Spoken Word to support young people in tapping into honesty and authenticity and suggests tools for teachers as they navigate our current challenging teaching environment. He argues that young people are already deciding what’s next for our world – adults just need to listen! EDTalks is co-presented by Achieve Twin Cities and Graves Ventures, a project of The Graves Foundation. Learn more at www.achievetwincities.org/edtalks or follow us on Twitter at #EDTalksMN​. This EDTalk was live streamed from Icehouse in Minneapolis, MN on April 19, 2023. It was emceed by Kyrra Rankine.