CAW's Saturday Art Workshops bring broad-based arts programming and social skill development to children aged 5-13 throughout East and Central Harlem. The workshops engage children in half-day visual or performing art projects facilitated by adult volunteers from all walks of life. Workshops use the arts to promote creativity and build social skills while helping children build positive relationships with adult mentors. When weather permits, some of the East Harlem workshops may be held in CAW's Peace Place Park, a vacant lot in East Harlem leased to CAW by the City of New York, which CAW has transformed into a community garden. The centerpiece of the park is a beautiful, six-story mural painted in 1995 by CAW teens, children, and volunteers. The mural transformed an old building and an empty lot into a vibrant symbol of peace and possibility. During inclement weather, the East Harlem workshops, which are scheduled twice a month, take place at the El Faro Beacon School on 120th Street and 1st Avenue, which has been host to the Saturday Art Workshops for several years.
Recently, CAW expanded its Saturday Art Workshops, through a partnership with Harlem Children's Zone at their Countee Cullen Community Center on 144th Street between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Blvds (7th and 8th Aves). The community center, housed in PS 194, bears another CAW mural, "The Message," painted in summer 2008 by teen participants, as part of CAW's Summer Art Works program.
The art projects in the workshops serve to build social and problem-solving skills, help children recognize and express their emotions, and, develop creativity and artistic skills. Our workshops give children a safe place to play, grow and explore in an environment where children are treated with care, respect and understanding. Workshops use the mediums of painting, drawing, montage, sculpture, dance, singing/rap, theater, music, reading, writing, gardening and any other practices that allow for creation and self-expression.
Saturday workshops are held three times a month. Please subscribe to our website to receive detailed information about our workshops, as well as other CAW events, each month.
