FAQs!

the basics:

  • ILYouth2, or I♡Youth2 (pronounced “I Love Youth Too”), is a play on the name of our parent gallery, ILY2 (which is web slang / an acronym for “I Love You Too”)!

    ILY2 also has an artists residency space in the Lloyd Center, called ILY2 Too (a play on 2000’s mall culture and the Limited Too).

  • The Lloyd Center is the home to both ILYouth2 and ILY2's artist residency space ILY2 Too; as well as some really cool independent stores and spaces, like Floating World Comics, Brickdiculous, Virtua Gallery, Electronic Music Club, and Star Tropics Pinball Museum (plus classics like Hot Topic and Auntie Anne's Pretzels)!

    While there are some vacant storefronts and construction, we find the mall to be very safe, with beautiful light, and a vibrant community.

    The Lloyd Center is set to be fully redeveloped some time in the next few years—but ILYouth2 won’t be going away! We’ll just be moving.

  • No problem! Email our director at daelyn@ily2online.com and they'll get back to you asap!

    You can also find lots of information on our accessibility page (everything from where to park to what our lighting is like).

participating:

  • While every individual youth is different, with their own individual needs—the general answer to this is yes!

    At ILYouth2 we recognize that too often, intentional space is not made for youth with varying access and sensory needs, and/or anxieties about being in a new place, with new people, trying new things. Our staff has over a decade of experience working with neurodivergent youth, and a commitment to making arts programming accessible and joyful!

    We just ask that all youth who participate in ILYouth2 programming are able to follow directions and be safe.

    When you register a youth for programming at ILYouth2, there is a space on the form for you to let us know anything you'd like to about your kid (what freaks them out, what comforts them, things we can expect, whatever!).

    You can find information about accessibility in our space here, and you are always welcome to touch base with our director at daelyn@ily2online.com (they're neurodivergent too!)

  • Our suggested age ranges are intended to give families an idea of what age group the program was designed for (with things like attention span and developmental skills in mind), but they are not strict.

    We have had youth as young as six be successful in our camps! We have several families where multiple siblings come to a camp and one is slightly below our suggested age range.

    We do request that youth below the suggested age range are able to follow directions and engage fully with the activities, so our teaching artists can direct their attention fairly to everyone!

    If you have questions about the specifics of a program and whether your kid might be a good fit, please feel free to reach out.

  • Please see our Scholarships and Sliding Scale page for a full breakdown of our sliding scale policy.

    We ask that families contribute what they’re able to in a given moment and environment. This not only helps us ensure that our programming is accessible, but enables us to pay our teaching artists in a way that honors their labor and practice.

working with us:

  • We put out calls for instructor proposals for our camps 3-6 months in advance. Proposals for other programming (weekend and after school workshops, events, etc) are typically open on a rolling basis. You can find forms for any open proposals on the Work With Us page.

  • ILYouth2 does not utilize volunteers, but we do have an internship programs for teens and college students!

    If you’re an adult who would like to lead programming, please check out the Work With Us page. If you'’d like to partner with us in some other way, please email our director at daelyn@ily2online.com

  • Awesome! Email daelyn@ily2online.com to set something up!

    For partnerships & collaboration:

    We're excited to work together with art classes, school leadership programs, Scout Troops, youth orgs, etc to build cool arts opportunities for youth in Portland! Let's chat!

    For visits:

    Whether you're hoping to set up a tour or a custom group activity, we love having classes, clubs, and other groups of young folks come visit our studio in the Lloyd Center Mall!

    While we do not currently have the capacity to lead programming outside of our space, we will absolutely come visit classrooms and talk about our space and programming if you can't come to us!