Art changed Dairrick Hodges. Transformed him, actually. As a kid in the foster care system, he didn’t always feel supported or encouraged to figure out who he was and what he could do, but when he found art, he found his voice. “Through arts, I gained a sense of power to affect the outcome of the circumstances I was facing,” he says. “I wouldn’t be here, nor would I be who I am today, if it weren’t for the arts and the many mentors in the arts community that gave me something to stand for during times when I didn’t feel I could get up at all.”

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