About | Spark House

Spark House

Spark House provides high-quality arts education programs and professional development to youth, staff, and administrators in schools and non-traditional learning settings. Rooted in youth development framework, we facilitate experiences that empower youth voices in settings where these opportunities traditionally do not exist.

Mission

Spark House profoundly engages youth by igniting creative self-expression and promoting rigorous literacy in schools and non-traditional learning settings.

Goals

IGNITE TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL LEARNING SETTINGS

Spark House uses imagination and creativity to invigorate classrooms and non-school sites to create fresh learning experiences that further engage youth. We enlist educators with the tools to cultivate safe, supportive learning spaces for youth to thrive.

INSPIRE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH RIGOROUS LITERACY

Spark House exposes youth to published literary works through reading and writing intensives. We aim to grow critical thinking and reading comprehension skills by assisting youth in extracting unfiltered thoughts and criticisms into well-organized works of artistic writing via writing and performance workshops, curricula development, anthologies, and live events.

PROMOTE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL-WELL BEING

Spark House uses Positive Youth Development to provide young people with necessary resources and tools to navigate trauma and coping skills. We use a strength-based approach to cultivate spaces of healing and growth.

DEVELOP YOUTH VOICE THROUGH CREATIVE SELF-EXPRESSION

Spark House empowers youth to exercise unapologetic voice and facilitates writing and performance experiences that grow communication and public speaking skills.

BUILD STRONGER COMMUNITIES THROUGH CULTURAL AND ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

Spark House partners with schools, educators, and cultural organizations to nurture socially responsible youth and strengthen community relationships in support of civic engagement.

Our Founder

Najee Omar

Spark House Founder, Najee Omar, is a Brooklyn-based writer, performer, and educator using poetry and performance to engage communities. Impacting thousands of youth in schools, jails, and juvenile justice facilities, Najee cultivates spaces of youth-led activism and freedom.

Since 2011, Najee has participated in a number of spoken word and creative writing residencies in partnership with New York City and Los Angeles Public Schools. In 2014, he co-conceived & co-facilitated curriculum for a pilot program exclusively designed for black male high school students. This initiative supported mental wellness, academic and cultural enrichment, employment readiness, and economic empowerment, with poetry as the point-of-access.

With the profound belief that young people, everywhere, deserve to have their voices affirmed, Najee seeks access to working with young people in alternative spaces and began conducting poetry workshops for youth in challenging, non-school settings. Having worked at sites including Rikers Island, Crossroads & Horizon Juvenile Centers, and Good Shepherd Services, Najee recognizes art & literature as vital tools to creating safe-space in alternative learning settings.

To-date, Najee continues to draw from these experiences and commits himself to facilitating opportunities where young people can claim ownership of their voices, bodies, and communities, one poem at a time.

A Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop Fellow, Najee’s selected readings and features include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Spoken Word Paris, Black Lives Matter Teach-in at Pratt Institute and a host of other colleges and universities across the United States. Najee’s poetry has been featured in Anna Deveare Smith’s MATTERING: an arts forum, Tastevin Magazine, and online publications including Poets & Writers Magazine, Beats, Frames & Life, and Russell Simmons’ All Def Poetry.

Want to learn more about Najee? Visit www.najeeomar.com or follow him on social media at @najeeomar!