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2025

Youth and the Future of Culture

Sux young people pose in front of a white banner with repeated logos for Action Youth Media: Powered by Youth for 20 Years, and a graphic of a clapperboard with text: films with a focus.
Action Youth Media Summer Docs interns pose on the red carpet at AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.
Photo courtesy of Action Youth Media
A young person hunches over to look through an analog camera on a tripod, standing in front of a marble sculpture of two figures in robes in a garden. Another person, partly out of frame, stands wearing headphones.
Students of Ghetto Film School shoot a movie on a 16mm film camera.
Photo courtesy of Ghetto Film School
Two people sit in a radio studio with bright red walls and shelves of CDs and records. On the desk in front of them are two microphones and a laptop covered in stickers.
Participants in ARTxFM Next Wave: Teen Academy use WXOX’s studio in downtown Louisville.
Photo courtesy of ArtxFM
In a dark photo studio glowing with blue light, one person sits in a spotlight on the ground, looking up toward a person standing on a box, pointing a camera at them. Others sit and stand behind them.
Wide Angle Youth Media’s high school video class films in their new studios.
Photo by Jake Saltzberg

Emerging Media Makers

“I’m passionate about the work we do, creating jobs, teaching media, building sustainability in our community, and, most importantly, giving power to our voices.”
—Edgar Romero, program manager, Action Youth Media

Youth today have had access to the tools to create media at their fingertips for most, if not all, of their lives. This ability to produce and share has encouraged many to explore and adopt unique ways to spotlight their experiences in a seemingly adult-focused world.

From podcasts to short films, “get ready with me” tutorials to “day in the life” vlogs, youth have embraced the moment, producing work that grapples with their understanding of the world, records family narratives, and, most importantly, tells their stories in their own words. Media makers are storytellers, and media production inspires community building and connection.

At the 2025 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, media creators will share who they are using a fresh lens. Emerging Media Makers highlights how young filmmakers, journalists, and DJs are telling unique and personal stories that explore the depth and breadth of their worlds. Join us in the Media Studio inside the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building for film screenings and talkbacks, intergenerational discussions about mentorship and craft, and engaging hands-on workshops that will give you “behind the scenes” access to the minds of youth media creators.

Training Programs & Individuals

  • Four young people stand on stage, each holding up a framed certificate with a laurel design.
    Winners at the 2024 Youth Media Festival accept their awards.

    Photo courtesy of Action Youth Media

    Action Youth Media
    Silver Spring, Maryland

    Action Youth Media (AYM) offers free out-of-school media arts courses and paid internships to middle and high school students, providing inclusive spaces where they can discover their interests, develop skills, prepare for their futures, and thrive. Since the program’s founding in 2005, more than 5,000 students have participated in programs that use media to advocate for change in their communities. AYM is committed to celebrating individuality through shared stories. Programs at AYM are intentionally designed, with a deep understanding that media is a powerful tool in community building, especially in a world that values conformity.

    Website
  • Four young people pose in front of a mural on the side of a building with the words WXOX 97.1 FM ArtxFM.COM in blue above a rainbow and over a starry black background.
    Aaron Ziegler, Lila Hayden, Jordan Gray, Maxwell Cash Selby pose in front of the mural at WXOX.

    Photo by Aron Conaway

    ARTxFM Next Wave: Teen Academy
    Louisville, Kentucky

    ARTxFM Next Wave: Teen Academy is a radio learning adventure based in the home studios of WXOX in Louisville, Kentucky. The academy provides area students with the skills they need to become professional broadcasters. Harnessing the power of radio, these students amplify their voices to influence listeners in positive ways. After mastering the WXOX studio equipment and memorizing FCC regulations, Next Wave DJs begin hosting weekly radio programs which can be heard in Louisville on 97.1 FM, worldwide online ART FM Next Wave speaks to—and for—a new wireless generation.

    Participants

    Jordan Anisa Gray
    Lila Marie Hayden
    Sharon Michelle Scott
    Maxwell Cash Selby
    Sean Michael Selby
    Aaron Knapp Ziegler
    Web Page
  • A group of eleven people pose, holding up medals around their necks. A portrait of George Washington hangs on the wall.
    Deanwood students celebrate their Youth Congressional Awards.

    Photo courtesy of Deanwood Radio Broadcast Youth Journalism Program

    Deanwood Radio Broadcast Youth Journalism Program
    Washington, D.C.

    The Deanwood Radio Broadcast Youth Journalism Program educates young people about the importance of broadcast journalism and the role that it can play in bringing about change in communities. Based in the Deanwood neighborhood east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., the program equips students with skills in research, interviewing, and production that prepare them for careers in journalism, communications, and related fields. Through a partnership with the Congressional Award Foundation (CAF) and the DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment, students host a podcast, Elevating Youth Voices. The partnership with CAF offers students mentorship from board members and the chance to earn Congressional Award certificates and academic scholarships.

    Podcast Page
  • Ghetto Film School
    Los Angeles, California

    Ghetto Film School (GFS) is an award-winning nonprofit founded in 2000 to educate, develop, and celebrate the next generation of great storytellers in Los Angeles. Through a partnership with the Huntington library and art museum, high school- and early college-age GFS filmmakers spend fifteen weeks immersed in a study of the Huntington’s collections to create short films drawn from their own perspectives. These films reveal the continuing relevance of historical art to contemporary creativity.

    Website
    Huntington Page
  • A young man smiles in his wheelchair, wearing a white baseball jersey with red trim and a signature on one shoulder. “The Ride Ahead” in yellow text is in the top left corner.
    Samuel Habib sports a signed Red Sox jersey at a ballgame.

    Photo courtesy of Samuel Habib

    Samuel Habib
    Concord, New Hampshire

    Samuel Habib is a college student and an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. The New York Times Op-Doc My Disability Roadmap (2022), a short film which he co-directed, was a Critics Choice Awards nominee. He has served as a story consultant on the nationally broadcast film Mr. Connolly Has ALS, worked as a Concord Monitor newspaper columnist, interviewed U.S. presidential candidates, and presented nationally on disability rights, inclusive education, and his transition to adulthood—themes he explores in the feature-length film The Ride Ahead (2024).

    Habib uses a wheelchair for mobility and a communication device (as well as his voice and gestures) to express himself. In addition to exploring his current and future academic and career options, he navigates significant, chronic health challenges due to his underlying GNAO1 Neurodevelopmental Disorder.

    The Ride Ahead Website
  • One person adjust a film camera with another stands behind the camera, smiling broadly.
    Wide Angle’s productions team Janai and Jeffrey on a shoot for NBCUniversal

    Photo by Matt Freire

    Wide Angle Youth Media
    Baltimore, Maryland

    Through media arts education, Wide Angle Youth Media collaborates with and amplifies the voices of Baltimore youth to engage audiences across social divides. The organization offers workshops, summer training sessions, and state-registered apprenticeships in video production, design, animation, photography, and other media. Its programs inspire creativity and instill confidence in young people, supporting them to navigate school, career, and life. Since 2000, Wide Angle has worked with over 8,000 youth from across Baltimore City who have produced thousands of media projects about their lives and communities.

    Participants

    Darian Jones
    Hannah Shaw
    Kamaria Avery
    Camille Ollivierre
    Janai Cherry
    Ali Thomas
    Savannah Winn
    Tahir Juba
    Website
    Folklife Magazine Article
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