Meet the next generation of storytellers.
In the Creative Youth Collective, we help curious, creative t(w)eens turn off the noise, tune into their ideas, and most importantly, share their stories.
Storytelling is self-discovery.
Through storytelling, t(w)eens process emotions, develop empathy, and imagine the future. It’s a powerful process of self-discovery. With the ever-increasing temptation to outsource creativity to AI and the confusion between genuine storytelling and content creation that proliferates on social media, now more than ever, it’s crucial that we support youth in telling and sharing their stories.
Welcome to the Creative Youth Collective
The Creative Youth Collective is a highly personalized, radically collaborative creative writing and photography mentorship experience. We guide curious, creative t(w)eens through the entire creative process, from idea generation to publishing their own stories.
Whether your creative kid has so many ideas that they don't know where to start, or they’ve been developing their favorite character, series, or art practice for years, the Creative Youth Collective provides all the support they need to consistently and confidently realize and share their stories and take their creativity to the next level.
We’ve published over 15 books by writers, photographers, and artists between the ages of 10-18, and so many more are currently in the pipeline! We’d be honored to help your creative t(w)een publish theirs, too.
The Background
Founder Kathryn Ian Gentzke was recently interviewed in Blurb’s Behind the Book Series - Read it here!
With a background in interdisciplinary arts and years of experience mentoring youth across the globe, founder Kathryn Ian Gentzke has created a unique space where young writers and photographers can bring their visions to life.
After graduating with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Practice from California College of the Arts, Kathryn launched The CCC Project, an organization dedicated to empowering youth through creativity and activism. Before attending CCA, she spent years leading youth mentorship programs across the San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, Upstate New York, and Berlin, honing a playful, collaborative approach to teaching media arts and writing.
The three C’s—creativity, curiosity, and community—serve as the foundation of her work. With each young artist and writer, she focuses on bringing their story worlds to life, sharing their work widely with the hope of inspiring more young people to create, and donating royalties from book sales to organizations that make positive change.
News and Events!
“You made my daughter feel, at every opportunity, that her voice, her story, and her unique mode of expression were important and worthwhile to put out into the world. During those times (and there were many) that she doubted herself and her abilities, she knew that you never doubted her - that kind of support is critical for all kids, but for a teenager like her, I think it made all the difference. ”
Recently Published by the Creative Youth Collective
Creative Youth Collective featured author, Amar, age 12, reads from his forthcoming novel, The Heist.
“From building pinhole cameras, to turning my hallway into a mini gallery, and then creating my college application portfolio, you’ve taught me so much and really let me explore photography. Thank you for all of the opportunities and milestones you helped me achieve.”
“I just cannot thank you enough for the care and love you have sent my daughter’s way at a very critical time in her life. You have let her shine and been the encouragement she needed to grow into a confident artist. Thank you. You will always be SUCH a blessing to our family.”
Unconcealed by Anna C., age 16, published in her book, Namibia
Members of the Creative Youth Collective learn how to
Kathryn Ian Gentzke reading to members and parents at our Community Share, SFMoMA, March 2024
Develop confidence in their unique voice.
Practice critical thinking, idea structuring, drafting, and editing.
Master creative project collaboration and interpersonal communication skills.
Present, share, and publish their work.
Reflect on their values and catalyze their imagination to create positive change.
How can my t(w)een join the Collective?
Step 1: Schedule a complimentary parent consultation. If it sounds like we're a good fit, we'll schedule a "t(w)een consultation," and once everyone is on board, we'll send you our brief enrollment form.
Step 2: Submit the form to let us know you’re in!
Step 3: We’ll set up our schedule and enroll you in the program.
Once you’re in, here’s how we’ll start
We’ll begin with a brainstorming session. We’ll talk about past work and our big dreams for the future, and somewhere between the two, we’ll find our unique starting point.
After that, we’ll jump into the process!
We’ll meet consistently, taking small steps together that add up to major progress on our creative project.
We’ll publish our in-progress work on your own personal professional-quality blog.
We’ll provide next steps for work between sessions as well as feedback on work completed independently.
Together, we’ll
Explore our ideas
Ideas often start as a small seed—a sketch of a plot line, a fictional character that’s hilarious to write, or a style of photography that they want to try out themselves. As we continue to explore these ideas together from week to week, they organically grow.
Find our voices
With time, idea generation shifts into world-building. We begin to see our stories reflected in our own lives and in the world around us. We begin to see the thematic threads in our creative practice and recognize why our unique voice matters.
Dive in to the Creative Process
There are several steps between a creative spark and a published book, and we walk alongside each young artist and writer through the entire process, from brainstorming, to creating, editing, layout, and finally, publishing. In the Creative Youth Collective, we understand that quality work takes time to produce, and the feeling of publishing a body of work that we’re super proud of makes every second it takes worth it.
Develop our interests
Selective high schools and colleges look for students who show a demonstrated commitment to an interest outside of the classroom, and members of the Creative Youth Collective easily stand out from the crowd. They’ve taken the initiative to develop their unique interests organically and have a professional quality portfolio of creative work ready to share.
Creative Youth Collective member, Charlie S, age 13, celebrating the publication of her second novel, The Dream Makers.
Marco C., age 17, making a Polaroid Emulsion Lift for his photography portfolio, Evolving Memory.
Creative Youth Collective member VKG, age 13, celebrating the publication of the first volume in his sci-fi series, The Shadeway.
Creative Youth Collective member, Amar, age 12, sharing an excerpt of new writing at our Community Share at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 2024.
Members of the Creative Youth Collective were recently featured on NY Times bestselling author Brad Montague’s event, BOOKED!, which celebrated young authors in 13 countries!
Share Our Stories
We believe that sharing our stories is an act of generosity that allows inspiration to snowball, and that’s why our work doesn’t just sit around in a folder on our laptop. If the member chooses, we help them publish their weekly work on a personal, professional quality blog during the creation process and invite friends and family into the conversation. We also share our work in progress in collective sessions, and support each other on common issues that pop up. And finally, we share our published books with the world at large in the hopes of inspiring more creative t(w)eens to craft their own stories and share them, too.
Charlie S, age 14, reading from her novel, The Dream Makers, at our Youth Author Showcase, San Mateo Public Library, San Mateo, CA, October 2023.
VKG, age 14, sharing The Shadeway, Volume One at our Youth Author Showcase at the San Mateo Public Library, San Mateo, CA, October 2023.
Create Positive Change
As champions of youth activism through the creative process, all of our authors have the opportunity to sell their books through our store, and if they choose, we’ll help them donate their royalties to organizations that support the changes they’d like to see in the world. Want to join us in creating positive change? Stop by our bookstore and purchase a book by one of our incredible young authors!
FAQs
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We have three opportunities to join in the year (space permitting):
• Spring starts in January 2025
• Summer starts in June 2025
• Fall starts starts in September 2025
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Each member spends at least 75 minutes per week on their creative project.
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We schedule our sessions in consultation with parents. We make every effort to meet at a consistent time, so that we have a regular cadence to our creative practice.
The majority of our meetings take place on Zoom, but occasionally we’ll schedule an in person meeting when the need arises. Throughout the year we also host select in-person events in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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A full year membership includes thirty-six 75-minute one-to-one sessions scheduled over the course of the year, access to all collective sessions, 3 in-person community events, 3 parent consultations, a personalized, professional quality blog, personalized next steps for work between sessions, weekly feedback on independent work, the first copy of your book, if you choose to publish, and so much more.
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Yes, we offer a 3 month membership for new members. Our 3 month membership includes eight 75-minute sessions scheduled at your convenience over the course of a 90-day period for $2939. At the end of the program, you can apply the tuition to a full year membership if you’d like to continue.
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Yes, we have a scholarship program. The Creative Youth Collective scholarship program is fiscally sponsored by Wild Projects, and we are eligible to receive tax-deductible donations and corporate matching gifts. Please get in touch with Kathryn at kathryn@cccproject.space for more information on how to support our scholarship program and how to apply.
The Creative Youth Collective members and parents at our Community Share, SFMoMA, March 2024
“It was great to have time to write about the things that I love, fun experiences, and just show my friends and family what’s going on in my life.”
“In the end, because of the Collective, my daughter had the opportunity to experience the beginnings of the impact she will have in the real world - 7 out of 8 college acceptances. But most importantly, when she put her heart on display - the Namibia exhibit at the Celebration of Creative Youth this past summer - and received exuberant feedback from our greater community, she began to truly believe in herself. As her parent, it was a joy to witness.”
Our Values
The CCC Project stands for creativity, curiosity, and community, because we believe these values form the cornerstones of an engaged life.
With a foundation in mentorship, project-based learning, and interdisciplinary arts education, we provide the framework to help young writers and artists discover and dive deeper into their interests, develop the skills needed to realize long term creative projects, and most importantly, share their stories with the communities that matter to them most.
Cover photograph by Creative Youth Collective member Rose S., age 13