Raw Art Works

RAW has been using the arts to nurture the untapped creativity of “youth in struggle” for 15 years.  Every year, the organization works with more than 600 young people, aged 6 to 20, in Lynn, a community just north of Boston. RAW helps its participants cope with social pressures and problems they deal with every day, including teen pregnancy, violence, depression, and poverty.  Its core staff of seven, led by Mary Flannery and Kit Jenkins, all hold master's degrees in art therapy and are working artists, which makes RAW unique.  Young people at RAW practice filmmaking, painting, drawing, and sculpting, and build valuable life skills.  In addition to working with youth in the studio, RAW staff performs outreach throughout the community—in public housing, incarceration facilities, soup kitchens, and on the street.

Visit the RAW Web site

Media Coverage

Tierney Indulges Creative Urge in RAW Arts Visit
By David Liscio, Daily Item of Lynn
July 20, 2009

MassArt Exhibit Honors Young Lynn Artists Improving Their Lives Through Art
By Wendy Killeen, Boston Globe
October 19, 2008

RAW Founders Honored with MassArt Degrees
By David Liscio, Daily Item
October 17, 2008

Stop in Salem Before Raw Art Works Fundraiser
By Larry Claflin Jr., The Salem News
May 15, 2008

Building Self-Confidence Through Art
By Wendy Killeen, Boston Globe
May 11, 2008

RAW Arts Group Creates Mural at YMCA
By David Liscio, Lynn Daily Item
March 22, 2007

Films Move to the Fore on First Night
By Leslie Brokaw, Boston Globe
December 24, 2006