It started with three students in a two-bedroom apartment.
Chris Woods and his wife, Ty, had not moved to Georgia with a plan to launch a nonprofit. They simply saw a need. They wanted to create a safe place where teenagers could gather on Friday evenings — a place with encouragement, positive relationships and room to belong.
Within months, those three students became 40.
Looking back, Chris realizes they were doing more than opening their home. They were building trust.
That trust became Artportunity Knocks, a nonprofit organization that empowers young people through the arts, education, community service and cultural connection. Nearly 20 years later, its mission remains personal: helping young people see what is possible.
“While many people know us because of our arts programming, we’re really in the business of developing people,” Chris says.
Creativity is the doorway. The work goes far beyond teaching a student to paint, dance, perform or produce music. Through Artportunity Knocks, students are introduced to music production, songwriting, podcasting, filmmaking, photography, graphic design, animation, dance, theater, visual arts, fashion design, STEM, robotics and entrepreneurship. Each program also includes mentoring, leadership development, academic support and workforce readiness.
The goal is not simply to help students become better artists. It is to help them become confident, capable people who understand their own value.
Chris and Ty both came from backgrounds in the arts and youth development. They knew personally how creative opportunities could shape confidence, leadership and direction. At the same time, they were watching arts education disappear from many schools because of budget cuts. Programs that had shaped their own lives were becoming harder for students to access.
Rather than talk about the problem, Chris says, they decided to become part of the solution.
Today, Artportunity Knocks connects creativity with career readiness, showing students that art is not only a hobby. It can become a career, a business, a platform or a way to impact the world.
For students who may not always feel successful in traditional settings, that exposure can be life-changing.
“Sometimes the student who struggles academically becomes the best photographer in the room,” Chris says. “The quiet student becomes an incredible actor. The student who has difficulty focusing becomes an amazing music producer.”
And once a young person experiences success in one area, something begins to shift. Confidence replaces insecurity. Leadership replaces fear. Purpose replaces uncertainty.
Every rehearsal teaches discipline. Every performance teaches courage. Every creative project teaches perseverance. Every challenge teaches resilience.
Chris has seen the impact come full circle. Former students have returned years later as volunteers, interns, staff members, educators, entrepreneurs, artists and community leaders. To him, that is success — not only when students receive an opportunity, but when they become people who create opportunities for others.
The organization’s connection to Smyrna, Vinings and Cobb County runs deep. Artportunity Knocks was born in Smyrna, in that apartment at 1408 Cobb Crossing, where students began discovering who they were and Chris and Ty began discovering who they would become. Many of its earliest partnerships, volunteers and programs were built here.
“This community helped shape who we are,” Chris says, “and we’re committed to continuing to invest right back into it.”
That investment continues through programs and partnerships across the area, including Back to School Cobb, hosted this year with the support of the Atlanta Braves Foundation at The Battery Atlanta. What began as a school supply event has grown into a community celebration with backpacks, resources, health services, entertainment, performances and connections to local organizations.
For Chris, the heart of the work is simple: every community already holds its greatest resource.
Its people.
Especially its young people.
Artportunity Knocks exists to help them see it, believe it and build from it.
“Leadership, to me, is helping people see potential they may not yet see in themselves,” Chris says.
And sometimes, that begins with an open door, a safe place to gather and someone willing to say, “You belong here.”
Connect with Artportunity Knocks
Artportunity Knocks welcomes community members, businesses and partners who believe in investing in the next generation. To learn more about the organization, volunteer, become a mentor, sponsor a student, provide internships, donate supplies or support its mission, visit artportunityknocks.org. Readers can also follow along on social media at @ArtportunityKnocks on Instagram and Facebook or @Artportunity on X. From arts programming and creative career pathways to community events and youth leadership opportunities, Artportunity Knocks offers many ways to help open doors for young people and support the potential already growing in our community.