Published May 7th, 2026
BY THEODORA MILLER
Founded in 2000, Youth Arts Collective, affectionately called YAC, acts as an open studio and classroom for artistically inclined students across the Monterey Peninsula, including many from Carmel High School, operating after-school hours for people ages 14 to 22.
Students are given a variety of art supplies, mentorship opportunities with like-minded community members, find artistic peers and a place to create without judgment.
“[YAC] is an awesome place,” says four-year YAC member and CHS senior Ava Cassady. “It’s definitely a way to explore your art and drawing abilities and a way to get yourself to be a better artist.”
Senior and veteran YAC student, Ava Cassady primarily creates portraits with darker undertones or themes woven in. Courtesy of AVA CASSADY
YAC helped Cassady take the next step and enter her art into competitions and showcases throughout the peninsula. For the past three years, the sketch artist has displayed her work—primarily colored pencil drawings with gothic elements—in the Carl Cherry “Thinking Out Loud” regional art competition, which takes place in downtown Carmel.
“I hadn’t been able to take art classes every year, which made me feel very disconnected from the arts scene at Carmel High,” says Cassady, “so I found a way to connect myself with the Monterey art scene through YAC.”
The organization charges $50 a month to participate, but offers need-based scholarships. Currently 61 students participate in the YAC, though program director Marissa Serna says the number fluctuates between 60-70 annually. The CSUMB graduate, who has been at YAC for 6 years and previously worked as an art teacher, says this program boasts an array of local artists for every medium such as a cartoonist, science illustrator, mural painters, videographers and ceramicists.
“Art making is a form of self expression and avenues of visual communications are incredibly important,” says Serna. “It can be incredibly powerful when shared with others because others can deeply relate to those themes.”
Executive director Jesse Juarez, a former YAC alum who joined as a student in 2001, notes the collective’s current focus is to keep it a sustainable location for young artists in the future. Juarez says his YAC experience had a positive effect on his future.
“I really never settled on a medium,” says junior Maya Stienberg about her art journey, which YAC has been an integral part of. Courtesy of MAYA STEINBERG
“I credit YAC and the people I met at YAC for being able to help me break out of my shell a little bit, and it really provided me a place where I could develop my own voice,” recalls Juarez.
Junior Maya Steinberg joined YAC as a freshman after her eighth grade art teacher spotlighted the program. She has found valuable mentors through YAC for her drawings and watercolors, helping her place first in the Monterey County Mock Trial’s courtroom artist portion of the competition as a sophomore.
“[YAC] has adults that do each kind of art, which is sort of cool,” says Steinberg. “They have clay workshops where you can go to [work with] pastel.”
Freshman Alejandra Gutierrez is a new addition to the program and says YAC has given her the resources to explore mediums she could not have had access to without the program. Previously, Gutierrez worked with water colors but has now changed focus to collage, with many of her works surrounding social justice.
Applying to Youth Arts Collective is a thorough process. Prospective students must submit a portfolio, two letters of recommendation, and sit for an interview.
Students from Carmel High and all around the peninsula have found guidance and a safe space to artistically experiment at Youth Arts Collective, a nonprofit aimed at equipping young artists with mentors and the confidence to create.
