Studies in Art Education / Volume 53, No. 4 317 LGBTQ Youth + Video Artivism: Arts-Based Critical Civic Praxis MINDI RHOADES The Ohio State University In 2005, digital media artist/activist Liv Gjestvang founded a nonprofit organization, Youth Video OUTreach (YVO), to teach lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth skills to create a documentary about their lives that could serve as a centerpiece for outreach and advocacy efforts by/for LGBTQ youth. While adult-initiated, the youths primarily drove the organization’s direction, goals, and outcomes. Youth Video OUTreach has combined key dimensions of critical civic praxis with artivism, primarily in out-of-school contexts, as strategies to create and capitalize on community resources and effect positive community change. Combining two concepts—Ginwright and Cammarota’s (2007) critical civic praxis and Sandoval and Latorre’s (2008) artivism—this article provides a framework for constructing collective, creative projects that challenge socio- cultural inequities. In particular, marginalized youth have found artivism a powerful tactic for reaching broader audiences with narratives, experiences, and perspectives that contradict and complicate dominant ones. Correspondence regarding this article may be addressed to the author: Mindi Rhoades, PhD, Assistant Professor, College of Education & Human Ecology, School of Teaching & Learning, The Ohio State University. Email: rhoades.89@osu.edu Copyright 2012 by the National Art Education Association Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research 2012, 53(4), 317-329 “Educators must acknowledge oppression, recognize students’ current and potential agency, and create safe spaces to research and strive for social justice.”