First Friday Art Parties with NLArts
First Friday fun for young creatives.
There is an incredible backbone structure to the newest program offering from NLArts titled First Friday Art Parties: Mentorship, ingenuity, and self-confidence. At its core, this program has been designed to enhance the vitality of pre-teens, giving them a safe and creative party each month. Lights will be dimmed and colorful, a dance floor illuminated by a disco ball, and decorations sprawled about giving a night club lounge vibe, and of course there will be pizza! All the ingredients for kids to be their truest selves.
A working creative will visit each month to lead an art station related to their professional pursuits and set an overall vibe for the party. The first visiting artist of this series is Elisa Cortes. Elisa is a Fashion Designer with a BFA from Moore College of Art & Design, born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia. On December 1st she will lead the kids to design and create their own tote bag using a plethora of diverse materials options: tie dye, embroidery, patches, paint, and even silkscreen stencils.
Head over to the Program page to learn more about First Friday Art Parties and to Register your group!
“In the midst of programming development I often find myself pondering - what would I have liked to do as a young, creative person? What excited and inspired me? ”
More from the Director:
“When I was in middle school there was a monthly event called ‘Rampage”. On Friday nights the basement of an old warehouse building was transformed into a night club for young teens. It was in the next town over, but all the middle schoolers in the county were invited. They had a DJ, snacks for sale, a pool table, and arcade games. It was like a school dance every month but better, because you got to meet new people and be more of yourself since you weren’t in your schools gymnasium. Literally, it was the coolest thing. I would dance all night! (back when ‘Hot in Herre’ was first released on the radio.)
Rampage was encouraged by the school district, it was very affordable, and socially impactful. If the pool table was replaced with an art table - it would have been my dream come true. Though the NLArts First Friday Art Parties are being piloted on a much smaller scale, I would love to take this program to the next level - I am keeping my fingers crossed for success!”