Saturday Morning plans community center for LA-area youth

Creative collective Saturday Morning, the organization founded to spread awareness about racial bias and injustice, is planning to open a community center in Los Angeles County to cultivate creativity within Black communities. The Community Center for Creativity, which is expected to break ground in 2025, will offer a range of free creative programs for children between the ages of 5 and 18 with the aim of helping them explore fine arts, performing arts and other creative topics. The center based in Inglewood, California will offer a range of summer and afterschool programs, and the space will also be used for meetings and events. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs “We’re going to bring in people from across various disciplines of art and design to talk to [kids] about the importance of these industries,” said Saturday Morning Co-Founder Keith Cartwright. “That’s bigger than anything we’ve done because you can say one thing to one kid, and it can change their life.” Fundraising has already begun to reach the $17 million goal set by the organization to cover the cost of construction, design, staffing and operations. A series of fundraising events, which include auctions and dinners, will start this fall. Saturday Morning has also launched a GoFundMe campaign, which had garnered just under $3,000 toward the goal at the time of writing. Phase one of the building and design process has been completed with architectural firm Pell Overton, which designed the Kennedy Child Study Center, and Shimenti Group Construction. Both companies are donating part of their time and expertise toward the project. “Living in LA, I see first hand the need and opportunity for a space that values and supports creative skill development, paving the way for future leaders in fields in such diverse fields as advertising, entertainment, architects and designers,” said Saturday Morning Co-Founder Geoff Edwards. The move marks a big step for Saturday Morning, which launched seven years ago urging for peaceful change to the ongoing racial division in the wake of the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police. Since then, the organization has partnered with brands such as Procter & Gamble and Spotify to spread awareness about racial bias and Black history. The Community Center is the next step in Saturday Morning’s evolution as it works to move from awareness to action, said Cartwright. “We found that creating awareness campaigns was not enough,” said Cartwright, who is also founder and CEO of the California-based creative agency that bears his last name. “What’s the action behind the work? We want to build some equity and create something that’s going to be long-lasting and provide a community beacon that continues our mission.”

Saturday Morning plans community center for LA-area youth

Featured Stories