Biography

After moving back to her hometown in Clarkdale, Mississippi, Cali Noland felt compelled to use her arts background to benefit marginalized youth in her community. In 2011, she created Griot Arts Inc. to provide a safe environment for at-risk youth and enable them to utilize the arts as a positive outlet for self-expression. Through instruction in various arts mediums, tutoring, and mentorship, she strives to ensure that these youth have the skills and support they need to thrive.

Since inception, Griot Arts has supported and mentored 15 youth, assisting them to improve academically, develop confidence, and enable them to set and achieve personal goals. They are now expanding their programs to include a job preparation course to better prepare these youth to enter the job market. The program will be welcoming 5 more students to the core group in the coming year, seeing each participant through to their high school graduation. Outside of the core group, the Griot Youth Program has hosted over 200 arts workshops for elementary, middle and high school students in Clarksdale, along with hosting a week long arts camp each summer.