Art beyond the walls

For young people inside the Doña Ana County Juvenile Detention Center, creating a piece of art can become more than something to pass the time. It can offer a chance to build confidence, form connections, and see what they are capable of creating. 

Creative Kids recently brought its Transformative Art Program into the detention center through a pilot program that uses collaborative art to give detained youth another outlet for expression while helping them recognize their potential. 

The sessions typically bring together eight to 12 participants, who work over three consecutive visits totaling about nine hours. Along with completing a piece, the process centers on earning trust and creating an environment where participants can recognize their ability to succeed. 

“It’s not really about the art,” Creative Kids co-founder and art director Stephen Ingle said. “It’s more about building people.” 

That relationship does not happen automatically. Instructors enter without knowing what brought each participant into detention or what they may be experiencing beyond the room. Breaking through that initial uncertainty can be one of the most difficult parts of the process, but once a connection forms, Ingle has watched participants become more engaged, ask questions and take pride in what they accomplish. 

“They each walk away finding something that they’ve learned — an education about themselves, about the process of art,” Ingle said. “But also, that they do have capabilities that they’ve never seen before.” 

Bringing the program to Doña Ana County required several pieces to come together. Funding through the New Mexico Department of Health’s Violence Intervention Fund opened an opportunity to address youth violence, while the county helped connect Creative Kids with the Juvenile Detention Center. 

Jamie Michael, director of Doña Ana County’s Health and Human Services Department, was already familiar with Creative Kids through the Paso del Norte Health Foundation when the state approached the county about available funding. 

“We really were just kind of the matchmaker in the whole process,” Michael said. 

The work extends beyond what participants create while detained. Returning to the community can bring another set of challenges, from finding employment and continuing an education to returning to the same circumstances that may have contributed to their incarceration. 

Creative Kids has operated similar programming in Texas, where some participants have continued receiving mentorship after release. Previous cohorts have also led to jobs for some young people around the organization’s gallery, offering another connection as they work to regain their footing. 

“We’re not understanding as a society that these kids are going to come back,” Ingle said. “What are we going to do about it? Are we going to put a Band-Aid on it, or are we going to try to remedy this situation?” 

Inside the program, art becomes a different way to process emotions and build relationships without framing every interaction around what a young person did wrong. That approach can be especially meaningful for participants who may feel disconnected from education, support systems, or other places where they might otherwise find positive recognition. 

For Ingle, some of the clearest changes appear in how participants begin viewing themselves. 

“I’ve seen changes in the attitude. I’ve seen changes in the belief. I’ve seen their self-esteem build,” Ingle said. “I see themselves thinking, ‘I could do something. I can be something.’” 

That work recently reached beyond the detention center through Heart & Color, an exhibition at the Doña Ana County Government Center featuring pieces created by participants in the program. Self-portraits were among the first projects completed by the young artists. Seeing the finished work brought a noticeable shift in their energy and enthusiasm. 

“They were invigorated. They were inspired. They were passionate,” Ingle said. “You could see it in their smiles. You could see it in their energy.” 

Putting those pieces before the public also offered a chance for the young artists to receive recognition outside the circumstances that brought them into the juvenile justice system. Michael saw particular value in allowing the community to recognize something positive created through their own abilities. 

“They may not feel seen for something positive,” Michael said. “It’s something that they are able to create with their own abilities.” 

Community members turned out to see the exhibition, providing another layer of support for work that Michael views as one positive piece of a much larger effort surrounding youth in detention. 

“It’s not going to solve all of our problems, obviously, but it is in the column of protective factors,” Michael said. “It’s in the positive column.” 

The local pilot lasted about 120 days. Ingle declined to provide an exact number of participants out of respect for privacy concerns surrounding the youth but estimated participation at fewer than 100 as young people moved through the detention system. 

With the pilot completed, attention is turning toward what could come next. Michael hopes the program can eventually be offered year-round at the detention center, while Ingle wants to expand the model beyond detention and reach young people in the community before they enter the juvenile justice system. 

Over the next three to five years, Ingle hopes Las Cruces can serve as a starting point for taking the program elsewhere in New Mexico, potentially as far north as Santa Fe. Continued funding and collaboration between Creative Kids, government agencies and the community will determine how far that effort can grow.  

“There’s more to the young person than just the criminal behavior,” Michael said. “They are people with a variety of abilities.”