Graffiti and Multimodal Inquiry: Exploring Care and Collaboration in Restorying Literate Identity

ABSTRACT This paper examines the literacies of Lane (pseudonym), a 12‐year‐old Latino youth, within a semester‐long community literacy partnership held while mothers attended GED classes. Lane's multimodal inquiry into graffiti unfolded through a curated text set in an inquiry‐based researcher workshop model. His case illuminates how out‐of‐school partnerships can nurture youth identity and literacy engagement. Three key themes emerge: (1) Lane's increasing ownership of his researcher process, (2) the restorying of his literate identity from reluctant observer to artist and researcher, and (3) the agentive affordances of multimodality in building and sharing knowledge. Findings highlight the instrumental potential of community literacy spaces to disrupt deficit perspectives, affirm culturally and linguistically diverse youth literacies, and foster confidence and joy in literacy learning. This study underscores the value of designing inquiry‐based, multimodal spaces that center youth interests and identities in literacy education.