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Youth Art Exchange

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Youth Art Exchange

Youth Art Exchange sparks a shared creative practice between professional artists and public high schools.

Youth Art Exchange sparks a shared creative practice between professional artists and public high school students, furthering youth as leaders, thinkers, and artists in San Francisco. To accomplish this, Youth Art Exchange offers high quality, citywide arts education programming, field trips, and events including:

Fall Session Free High School Arts Programs
Spring Session Free High School Arts Pr

ograms with Pop Up Art Shop
Stipended Spring Internship Program
Stipended Summer Arts Internship Program
Stipended Youth leadership positions: Youth Advisory Board, Teaching Assistant Positions, Alumni Internship
the Annual San Francisco Youth Arts Summit

Our current disciplines include Architecture + Public Art, Black + White Photography, Digital Media + Film, Music + Music Production, Fashion Design, Latin Fusion Dance, Printmaking, and Coding in partnership with MissionBit.

08/17/2026

Charles Blackwell: On View at YAX

Join us for a special exhibition featuring the work of Charles Curtis Blackwell, a San Francisco-born poet, playwright, and educator whose work has appeared in more than 180 publications and whose decades-long practice has helped shape literary communities across California and beyond. Blackwell has also led writing workshops in California State Prisons and currently teaches at Youth Spirit Artworks in Berkeley. Charles is supported in this exhibition through Hospitality House and their Community Arts Program.

On View: August 20 – September 4

Gallery Hours
• Thursday, August 20 | 12–5 PM
• Friday, August 21 | 12–5 PM
• Thursday, August 27 | 12–5 PM
• Friday, August 28 | 12–5 PM

Youth Art Exchange
1950 Mission Street, San Francisco

08/12/2026

Fall classes are starting soon! FREE afterschool classes for High School students taught by amazing artists here in the Bay 🌁

Enrollment is open click the link in our Bio to sign up!

08/06/2026

Join us weekly on Thursday’s for Afro-Brazilian Drumming with Alfie of Sambaxé Drum & Dance Company! Whether you’re picking up a drum for the first time or looking to deepen your skills, these sessions are all about community, movement, and the rich traditions of Afro-Brazilian music.

Thursdays through August 20
5:30 PM – 6:45 PM
Youth Art Exchange | 1950 Mission St. (@ 16th St. BART)

💜 Youth, Teachers & Non-Profits: $5
💜 Adults & Families: $10

Come make music, meet new people, and experience the joy and energy of drumming together. No experience needed—just bring your enthusiasm!

📧 [email protected]

07/31/2026

All Levels Brazilian Percussion Class with Alfie Macias of Sambaxé Drum and Dance Company and Youth Art Exchange (YAX) at our 1950 Mission St.

6pm-7pm Drums Provided.

Educators/Students/Youth/Non-Profit Workers $5
Adults/Families $10.

07/28/2026

Join us for the first ever Mission Missives Zine Expo!!

On Saturday, August 29 from 12–4 PM, YAX Studios @ La Fénix transforms into a celebration of Bay Area comics, zines, illustration, and independent publishing. Browse handmade zines, original artwork, prints, artist merch, local food vendors, and meet the creators keeping DIY culture alive in San Francisco.

We’re also excited to host a special artist panel featuring:
Jordan Bennett 🕺 (Jordan Bennett)
Adrian Brawn (Adrian Brawn)
iskra (Iskra Pag-asa Verdote)
Isaiah torok (Isaiah Torok)

Hear these incredible artists talk about comics, self-publishing, illustration, and building a creative practice in the Bay Area.

La Fénix at Youth Art Exchange
Saturday, August 29
12–4 PM
FREE & open to all

Mission Missives is made possible through the support of Avenue Greenlight, helping us create opportunities for local artists, independent publishers, and our creative community to connect and thrive.

Bring a friend, support local artists, and leave with something you won’t find anywhere else.

07/24/2026

Join us as we celebrate the closing reception of Lineage, the beautiful exhibition by Amy Diaz-Infante Siqueiros, at Youth Art Exchange’s La Fénix gallery (1950 Mission St., San Francisco).

Since opening on July 11, Lineage has invited us to reflect on the connections that bind us across time and place. Exploring how our relationships with plants, food, and one another are passed from generation to generation. Through this thoughtful and immersive showcase, Amy has created a space for thought and memory.

Now it’s time to gather one last time for a community potluck and closing celebration! Come share food, conversation, and gratitude as we honor this incredible exhibition and the connections it has fostered over the past few weeks.

Thank you to Amy Diaz-Infante Siqueiros and everyone who visited, contributed, and made Lineage such a meaningful experience. We can’t wait to celebrate with you one last time.

📍 Youth Art Exchange – La Fénix
1950 Mission St., San Francisco

07/07/2026

So excited for the second workshop in this series! Come by and make a really cool book with our amazing artist Alejandra Rubio 📚

06/26/2026

Join us as we celebrate the closing reception of Sambaxé: Carnaval Photography by Lisa V. Leach!

Experience the vibrant depiction of Carnaval through Lisa’s incredible photography before the exhibition comes to a close.

Tuesday, June 30
6:00–8:00 PM: Youth Art Exchange Studios at La Fénix
1950 Mission Street, San Francisco

06/13/2026

Starting July 11th to the 31st Youth art Exchange Will be hosting Amy Díaz-Infante Siqueiros’ solo show - Lineage.

Lineage explores our connection across time and place, from generation to generation, through our relationship to plants and food.

These images draw from my personal Chicana narrative and the ancestral knowledge inherited through culinary traditions and medicinal plant usages. The acknowledgement of our dependence on and integration with the natural world feels particularly salient at a time when that world is threatened with climate change, and when advancements in technology can separate us from a physical experience of the world and of community.

In the U.S., when our legitimacy as community members in this country and our very personhood are under attack, these images are also a reminder that we carry this land in our bones.

Come check out the opening reception on July 11th at our La fênix Location!

05/19/2026

We are hiring for this summer! If you are an artist or teacher looking for summer work with great students and program please reach out! Send your resume to [email protected] for more info and a shot at joining a great team and greater mission!

Address

1950 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
94103

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm

Telephone

(415) 574-8137

Website

http://www.youthartexchange.org/

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