Youth Speaks Nashville is bringing its spoken word art form to Rutherford County via a four-week workshop to be held on Tuesday afternoons, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. at Central Magnet School. 

This workshop will continue for four weeks, and will culminate in a regional semi-final SLAM to be held at The Walnut House on Friday night, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. 

Winners in this semi-final competition will go on to final competition at Tennessee State University in Nashville on April 2.  Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities, Inc. (YEAH!)  is proud to hold Youth Speaks Nashville for the second year in a row and encourages students ages 10-18* to join us for this exciting art form that works in words, rhythms and emotion.

These workshops are free to any and all who want to attend, space permitting, on a first come, first serve basis.  Please email artsempoweryouth@gmail.com for questions or to make reservations.

Youth Speaks Nashville believes that through words, all youth claim the power and hope to determine their future.  Youth Speaks Nashville creates and provides platforms for youth to speak about the real hopes and challenges in their lives.

“Through the literary and performing arts, Youth Speaks Nashville offers creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities. We are absolutely committed to providing youth, especially in underserved communities, with as many opportunities as possible to develop and publicly present their voices both live and in print, video, audio, and digital media.”

YEAH! is a local youth arts organization dedicated to providing experiences in the arts for young people ages 10-17, believing that the arts and performance can empower youth to become creative, productive and confident members of our community. 

YEAH! strives to create a connected creative community through the arts, performance and collaborations with other nonprofit arts organizations like Youth Speaks Nashville.

Central Magnet School is located at 701 East Main St., Murfreesboro, and the YEAH! home classroom is Room 336 in the Annex. Central Magnet is a Rutherford County middle and high school, and Dr. John Ash serves as its principal.

The Walnut House is a live audio/video production company, recording studio and event facility, and is located at 116 N. Walnut Street in Murfreesboro. Immediately following the slam on Friday night, March 18, YEAH! will present its first all ages concert of 2011, also at The Walnut House.  Details about the show and the performing bands will be announced soon.

This Youth Speaks Nashville workshop is made possible through the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission  and the William N. Rollins Fund for the Arts of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

*Parental Discretion is advised, as parents may deem some material inappropriate for young children.
For more information, please contact artsempoweryouth@gmail.com or call 615-849-8140. You may also visit YEAH’s website at www.yeahintheboro.org or Youth Speaks Nashville’s website at www.youthspeaksnashville.org.