The arts programs were intended to happen in-person at libraries throughout the city, but COVID-19 made it necessary to host them in a socially distanced way. We chose to livestream most of the programs on our Facebook and YouTube pages. This allowed anyone to “drop in” to the program at any time regardless of where they were, no sign up or extra links required. It also served as additional promotion for the contest. We also offered three closed WebEx creative writing workshops, for smaller, more intimate programs.

Strategic partnership between the library, the Library Foundation and a private company gave teens a space and platform to express their thoughts using their creative talent. It allowed for us to recognize and award teen work in a way that had not been possible in previous years. Summer Youth Employees participated in and evaluated the arts program. This gave them suitable online tasks and gave us feedback on the program. We pivoted quickly to explore ways of delivering virtual arts programs to teens.

We received 46 entries, double what we had hosting a similar contest last year. Youth employees gave positive feedback on each arts program and the contest. The digital landscape allowed our sponsor to be more involved in different parts of the program, since physical logistics were not a limitation. We received positive feedback from parents and teachers about the contest. A parent said: “It was something for [my daughter] to focus on last summer and look forward to, when everything seems so uncertain and quite bleak."