Creativity doesn't stop at the edge of one medium.

Through a partnership with Youth on Record, Access Gallery artists spent three weeks exploring songwriting, beat making, digital music production, and recording in a professional studio. Together they learned to use Soundtrap, a web-based digital audio workstation, building original compositions from loops, rhythms, instruments, and their own ideas.

For Quinn, the experience was unlike anything he had tried before.

"I'd never made music before. I wanted to discover what it would be like to make my own piece."

Creating his own beats and stepping into the recording booth opened an entirely new creative outlet.

"It made me feel excited. It expanded where I could go with it."

Stephen had carried a different dream for years.

"I've wanted to sing on stage since I was a kid."

During the residency, he wrote and recorded an original song titled All Things Are Possible in My Life, using music to share messages about perseverance, hope, and treating others with kindness. Inspired by mythology and heavy metal rhythms, his lyrics reflect his belief that creativity can encourage people through difficult moments.

Jack came into the residency with years of experience writing music, but the process challenged him to think differently.

Instead of beginning with lyrics, he started with rhythm.

"Listening to the beats changed the way I wrote. It opened up new ways of thinking about the music."

For Jaida, the experience connected directly to another creative goal. As an animator and storyteller, she wanted to create original music for her videos rather than rely on copyrighted tracks. During the residency, she composed an instrumental piece inspired by Mars, building layers of sound that gradually grow into a powerful crescendo.

As the weeks unfolded, something else happened.

Artists encouraged one another, shared ideas, celebrated successes, and began imagining what could come next. Conversations quickly shifted toward future collaborations, music videos, animation, podcasts, and incorporating original music into exhibitions and performances.

For Youth on Record Teaching Artist David Dulin, that spirit of collaboration was the real success.

"Collaboration is just the best. It's a creative space in a creative community."

That sense of possibility reflects what both organizations believe: creativity grows when people are given the freedom to experiment, support one another, and try something new.

The residency may have centered on music, but its impact reached much further. It reminded every artist in the room that creative practice is never finished. There is always another instrument to learn, another idea to explore, and another story waiting to be told.