Info about enrolling in our Art Education and Youth Development Programming.
Arts & Artists Outdoors: A2O
A new initiative and artist residency program with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
Arts and Artists Outdoors (A2O), is a ten-week-long artist residency program which uses free arts programming and community engagement to cultivate an appreciation of the natural and environmental assets of Philadelphia.
A2O brings together artists, youth, and the community to encourage a sense of stewardship of their environment through the creation of art. Each artist is paired with a selected recreation center, where he/she will lead twice weekly art workshops for teens (ages 10-14) and community members, which offer hands-on art activities that highlight the natural resources of the center's nearby green space. This unique collaboration is made possible through our partnership with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.
To Enroll for the Teen Workshops, download application here and bring to the first workshop. Applications are also available at each A2O Rec Center site.
All Teen Workshops begin the week of March 19th, 2012
SPRING 2011
Beth Clevenstine - Hawthorne Recreation Center, 1200 Carpenter Street
Beth Clevenstine will work with the community at the Hawthorne Cultural Center to build and design a planter made out of cob, a material consisting of clay, straw, sand, water and earth. She will lead workshops in creating the planter and designing handmade tiles that will be inlaid into the cob. Youth participants will take field trips to the nearby FDR Park to observe, be inspired by the local greenery, and will learn how use soil for fun art making activities!
Community Workshops:
Saturday, March 24, April 14, May 5
1 - 4 p.m.
Teen Workshops:
Tuesdays & Thursdays
3:30-5:30
Leah Reynolds - Awbury Recreation Center, 6101 Ardleigh Street
Leah Reynolds’ project at the Awbury Recreation Center is titled Plastics are Forever/ Trash Makes Me Dizzy. She will lead workshops focusing on the many uses of “trash” as youth and community members will learn how to braid, weave and connect old plastic bags, bottles and other recyclable materials, turning it into a large, hanging spiral in relief. By the end of her residency, the piece will be temporary installed outside the Recreation Center.
Community Workshops:
Saturday, March 24, April 14, May 5
1 - 4 p.m.
Teen Workshops:
Tuesdays & Thursdays
3:30-5:30
Kathryn Sclavi - McVeigh Recreation Center, 400 E Ontario Street
Social practice artist Kathryn Sclavi will work with youth in the community to identify and research "found" natural resources at the McVeigh Recreation Center. Some of the resources include neighborhood trees, community gardens, and recycling centers, and through youth-led interviews, research and art-making, participants will create a small DIY book, called a zine. She will also design a larger map of these natural resources to be installed in the Recreation Center along with the zines, which will be distributed at the end of the residency.
Community Workshops:
Saturday, March 31, April 28, May 19
10 - 1 p.m.
Teen Workshops:
Mondays & Wednesdays
3:30-5:30
Tennyson Tippy - Max Myers Recreation Center, 1601 Hellerman Street
As a decorative artist, Tennyson Tippy will bring her interest in design to the Max Myers Recreation Center. She will work with youth and community members to create woodblock prints of the local trees and greenery that have bloomed and blossomed during the spring. The designs will ultimately make up the composition of a “wallpaper-like” mural that will be permanently installed inside the Recreation Center.
Community Workshops:
Saturday, April 21, May 5, May 12
11 – 2 p.m.
Teen Workshops:
Tuesdays & Thursdays
3:30 - 5:30
Mat Tomezsko - Piccoli Recreation Center, 4300 Castor Ave
Mat Tomezsko will continue his time as an A2O artist at Piccoli playground where he will work with the community to construct a garden space filled with re-purposed objects. During the workshops, youth and community members will explore a variety of techniques and mediums such as stenciling, portraiture, spray painting, and collage. The work of the participants will be celebrated in this temporary garden space and defined by a painted fence made up re-purposed material which will be later installed inside the building.
Community Workshops:
March 31, April 21, May 12
12 – 3 p.m.
Teen Workshops:
Mondays & Wednesdays
3:30-5:30
Ana Uribe - Gustine Recreation Center, 4868 Ridge Ave
As one of our organization’s seasoned muralist, Ana Uribe will bring her talents to the Gustine Recreation Center where she will lead workshops with the youth and community which focus on the natural beauty of the nearby Schuylkill River. The designs and ideas from the community will become both the inspiration and content for a final small mural which will be painted at the Recreation Center.
Community Workshops:
March 31, April 21, May 19
12 – 3 p.m.
Teen Workshops:
Mondays & Wednesdays
3:30-5:30
Fall 2011
Mat Tomezsko - Feltonville Recreation Center
Based on the theme of inter-connectedness in nature, Mat's residency will focus on how people influence and are influenced by their natural environment and surroundings. Through weekly workshops and community engagement, the community will explore the relationship between bee and flower, drawing on nature to create paintings, stencils, and a collaborative wall design and portraits. Mat's curriculum will encourage participants to work with natural imagery and materials, and will use bees and flowers as a way to talk about color, design, repetition, which will become an inspiration for the stencil-making and designs.
Additional funding provided by the Department of Human Services
To learn more: Jocelyn Nelson | Residency Program Manager | jocelyn.nelson@muralarts.org | 215.685.0726
