Scenius at YOUmedia: Supporting and Sustaining Young People's Collective Genius

Abstract

Building on a case study of a youth space situated in a public library in Hartford, Connecticut, This paper theorizes youth-centered spaces as “scenes” as a means to better understand designs for adult participation in youth-centered spaces by focusing on actions that support and sustain the “scenius,” or collective genius, of those scenes. Scenius suggests that we reconsider the ecology of spaces like YOUmedia that are communities of practice(s), that are social spaces, and that are spatially situated within larger institutional contexts. What I draw from scenius into the context of YOUmedia is a sense that there are agents of scenius whose hands may not be making, who hold power to support the community from the periphery, from the places and spaces in between.