Rachel Barnard, Young New Yorkers

Rachel Barnard is the co-founder of Young New Yorkers, a public art project which utilizes art space and workshops as alternatives to incarceration for convicted 16 and 17 year olds. She sits down with David Weinstein in the Clocktower studio at Pioneer Works’ Second Sunday event on September 14, 2014 to discuss YNY’s space in Brooklyn, their role as a fresh start-up organization, and the inspirational art projects they have aided and inspired.

Young New Yorkers was started as a restorative justice arts program for teenagers who have open criminal cases. In New York state, 16 and 17 year olds are prosecuted as adults, giving them life-long criminal records and lengthy periods of incarceration in adult prison facilities. The criminal court gives eligible defendants the option to participate in Young New Yorkers rather than serve jail time. The organization puts on a series of workshops that have the participants to design a public art installation that expresses a positive social message of their choice.

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