Karen Young

Karen Young (she/her) is a cultural organizer, artist, and educator living in Boston, MA. She combines taiko and creativity with community organizing strategies to elevate issues of power, identity, and marginalization. Influenced by Japanese-American taiko activists of the 70s, Young is most interested in the intersection of art, grassroots organizing, and policy. As a Boston Artist-in-Residence, she used the arts to bolster the voice of elders concerned about street safety from BCYF Grove Hall Senior Center in Dorchester. She is a Live Arts Boston awardee, the founding director of The Genki Spark, co-founder of the Brookline Cherry Blossom Festival, and is a 2019-2021 Boston Foundation Neighborhood Fellow. As a Boston AIR mentor and advisory group member of Radical Imagination for Racial Justice, Young remains committed to preserving and growing a diverse arts ecosystem in Boston.