We’ll make art that pops this week, from found object sculptures to paper mache to pop-up books and so much more! Create amazing, tactile art using upcycled and recycled materials, from ingenious inventions to astounding 3D animals!

Special Notes

This program will take place at ACA (20 Academy St, Arlington, MA 02476)
** Please consult our Parent Handbook and COVID-19 Camp Safety Plan for information about our camp structure and health & safety policies, in light of COVID-19. You can find our parent handbook here: https://www.acarts.org/camp-policies
** Please note: ACA continues to closely monitor developments regarding COVID-19 protocols and practices. Should local and state policies prohibit in-person programming, ACA will offer virtual camp programs in place of in-person programs. If this should occur, ACA staff will contact camp registrants to alert them of the changes and to make accommodations as needed.

Required Supplies

Please consult our list of required camper supplies at ACA's website: https://www.acarts.org/camp-policies

Explore the many fun possibilities of creating with clay in ACA’s brand-new ceramics studio, from handbuilding projects to wheel throwing and so much more! With the guidance of an experienced ceramics instructor, our Teen Studio campers will have the opportunity to create tactile, take-home ceramics works in a small, supportive class environment… beginners welcome!

Special Notes

This camp will take place at the Arlington Center for the Arts (20 Academy St, Arlington, MA 02476)
** Please read our Parent Handbook and COVID-19 Camp Safety Plan for information about our camp structure and health & safety policies, in light of COVID-19. You can find our parent handbook here: https://www.acarts.org/camp-policies
** Please note: ACA continues to closely monitor developments regarding COVID-19 protocols and practices. Should local and state policies prohibit in-person programming, ACA will offer virtual camp programs in place of in-person programs. If this should occur, ACA staff will contact camp registrants to alert them of the changes and to make accommodations as needed.

Required Supplies

ACA will provide supplies for all ceramics programs

Create unique graphic images using silkscreen prints, relief prints and monotypes! Students can design posters, t-shirts, wall art and books. They will learn to make multiples of images using safe, non-toxic printing techniques.

Special Notes

This camp will take place at the Arlington Center for the Arts (20 Academy St, Arlington, MA 02476).
** Please consult our Parent Handbook and COVID-19 Camp Safety Plan for information about our camp structure and health & safety policies, in light of COVID-19. You can find our parent handbook here: https://www.acarts.org/camp-policies
** Please note: ACA continues to closely monitor developments regarding COVID-19 protocols and practices. Should local and state policies prohibit in-person programming, ACA will offer virtual camp programs in place of in-person programs. If this should occur, ACA staff will contact camp registrants to alert them of the changes and to make accommodations as needed.

Required Supplies

ACA will be in touch prior to the start of the program with a list of any required supplies, as applicable

The 10th annual Arlington Jazz Festival will once again be presented virtually, since, as they say, this notable local festival must go on, no matter the pandemic weather. For this milestone anniversary year, presenter Arlington Jazz has scheduled a series of one-hour concerts, presented online over a 3-night stretch. The festival will be live-streamed from PBS Studios located in Westwood (MA) and be made available for real time viewing on the Arlington Jazz Facebook event page: facebook.com/Arlington-Jazz-1136997489665817.

The following musical artists will be sharing their work within this virtual festival setting, timed perfectly to coincide with Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) which falls in April:

-- Witness Matlou Trio (witnessmatlou.wixsite.com/witnessmatlou, facebook.com/Witness-Matlou-387266567964690);
-- MIXCLA (facebook.com/MixclaTrio);
-- The Dan Fox Group (danfox.com, facebook.com/dan.fox.31945)

In Duality Cowan and Kocur use dichotomies between naturalistic landscapes and architectural elements to explore spiritual, temporal and environmental themes in the world. Though the artists diverge from each other visually, they both propose that the world as we perceive it has an essential but obscured order to it. Cowan and Kocur harness the power of contradiction to create dynamic, engaging work. Each artist skillfully uses the opposition of natural and geometric elements to arrive at themes that are both personal and universal.

Join poet Jessie Brown for a fun and interactive workshop via zoom focused on writing haiku poems to celebrate the green spaces of Arlington Heights. Register for this zoom event here! Participants are encouraged, but not required, to take a field trip outdoors before the workshop, to observe and explore! Do the scents of spring take you back to your childhood? How do your feet sound on the boardwalks of Arlington’s Great Meadows? Can you spot a silent owl in the woods, or your own backyard?
Selected poems will be painted in storefront windows in Arlington Heights in June.
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/haikuoutdoors

After a year that has divided and disconnected many people, we remain humbly grateful for the community in which we serve. Arlington Center for the Arts is pleased to be presenting our annual Members Show 2021: YOU + ME. This celebration of artistic membership at the ACA presents artwork in a variety of media that address concepts of connectivity and togetherness.
This exhibit honors the diversity of experience and expression, seeking pieces that speak to the various ways we can experience togetherness now and envision future possibilities. These concepts include, but are not limited to community, family, love, ecology, friendship and their struggles and triumphs.  Subjects are realistic, abstract, human, environmental, calculated, and experimental.

Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. It is done with a brush dipped in black ink or coloured pigments, usually on paper or silk. We will start off with a demonstration of all of the basic strokes and information about the materials. Then, we will progress to paint subjects including river reflections, yellow butterfly, gladiolus, praying mantis, goldfish, and more. For those new to the art of Chinese ink brush painting or with some experience. Please note: A materials list will be emailed once the class has reached minimum enrollment.

Come explore visualizations and illustrations of the urban environment—city living, architecture, streets, rooftops, interiors and more. We’ll discuss some of the most important city painters and draftsmen and learn from their style, depictions, and imagery. Be prepared to go outside to nearby cities and take photographs during the week for drawing assignments we’ll do together in class. All levels welcome. Please note: A materials list will be emailed once the class has reached minimum enrollment.

History & Highlights: Learn about the ICA’s 85-year history in Boston, including its ongoing commitment to a wide range of contemporary visual and performing arts, the opening of the visionary Diller Scofidio + Renfro building on Boston’s waterfront in 2006, and the introduction of a satellite location in East Boston—the ICA Watershed—in 2018. Get introduced to highlights from the ICA’s collection of contemporary visual art, a diverse mix of work from the 20th and 21st centuries. Designed to be interactive, participants can share their observations, interpretations, and questions throughout.

Learn the basics of painting with acrylics in this easy-to-follow class. We'll start with color mixing and build up your skills so you can make paintings that pop and begin to bring your ideas to life on canvas. All levels welcome. Please note: A materials list will be emailed once the class has reached minimum enrollment.

Instructor Laurel Greenfield is a Boston-based acrylic painter on a mission to capture joyful and nostalgic food memories in vibrant color with her pop art expressionist style. She also teaches acrylic painters to create paintings that pop so they can get their own vision from their head to their canvas.

Nature is always an excellent subject for photography. Get ready to spend some time outside with your camera as you master practical techniques for working outdoors. From mountain landscapes to macro flower details in gardens, still lifes, and everything in between, we’ll learn to capture the beauty of nature. We will cover lighting and composition, as well as look at historical and contemporary examples of photographers working in nature. The class will help you feel comfortable technically and teach you to think creatively. Some techniques discussed will work better if your camera has manual controls, but any kind of camera is fine for this class.

Instructor Suzi Grossman holds a degree in fine arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and in English literature from Tufts. Her photographs explore family and group dynamics as well as living environments. Visit SuziGrossman.com

Calling all actors! Join us for a unique and fun opportunity to perform for an online audience. Together we will work to choose, rehearse, and produce a series of one-acts. On the last night of class, your friends and family will be invited to log on and enjoy the show. Whether you have never performed before, or have loads of practice, this will be a fun, collaborative experience to perform, even when we cannot physically get onstage.

Make your own printmaking “studio” at home and learn the foundations of making linoleum relief prints without a press. Explore conceptualizing and utilizing positive/negative spaces to carve out designs on your fancy “stamp,” learn proper carving and inking methods, monotone, gradations, and multicolor strategies, and approaches for labeling and managing singular and multiple prints. Practice to perfect your technique and then create a “final” series (small collection) of prints. Beginners and experienced students will find inspiration in this class. Please note: A supply list will be emailed once the class has reached minimum enrollment.
With over 16 years of experience in the education field, instructor Dani Schechner has taught courses in studio arts, therapeutically oriented arts courses, yoga and mindfulness, youth and adult education. She has a Masters in educational studies, as well as a BFA in studio arts, women's and gender studies, and a Postgraduate in general and special education.

Make your own printmaking “studio” at home and learn the foundations of making linoleum relief prints without a press. Explore conceptualizing and utilizing positive/negative spaces to carve out designs on your fancy “stamp,” learn proper carving and inking methods, monotone, gradations, and multicolor strategies, and approaches for labeling and managing singular and multiple prints. Practice to perfect your technique and then create a “final” series (small collection) of prints. Beginners and experienced students will find inspiration in this class. Please note: A supply list will be emailed once the class has reached minimum enrollment.

Through discussion and some breaks to listen to great music, join musicologist Gregory Leschishin and discover how pop music of the 1950s through the 1980s became the hits that we know and love. Uncover how the record charts were determined by the very few people who had control over what was played over the air, and how certain songs became hits while others flopped. With hundreds of songs getting released by many independent record labels, all seeking the opportunity to snag a hit, some songs were natural fits, while others succeeded by accident, luck, or a combination. Relive and rediscover your 45 record collection with this fun class!

Bill Adair will share a tour of his Gold Leaf Studios, showing highlights of the frame collection. He will then demonstrate the actual gilding process on a section of one of the frames that the studio is working on.  Adair will also discuss and take questions about conservation ethics in the field.

Adair will give you the opportunity to become a “frame detective” yourself and will help you identify your family possessions. Frames can often leave clues about the origins of  painting and photographs, especially when labels or inscriptions are found on the verso (the back of the frame). Each frame can reveal hidden truths long forgotten. Any frames are fair game! Time will also be available for participants to ask questions about their own frames.

William Adair is a frame conservator, frame historian, and master gilder. He began his career in frame conservation at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, where he became fascinated with gilding and the history of frames. In 1975, the Smithsonian awarded Adair a grant to travel to Europe to learn about tools and techniques from the few remaining master gilders working in the Renaissance tradition.

Poet Charles Coe returns for an evening using conversation and writing prompts to explore why it can be such a challenge to have candid and respectful conversations about issues like race, class, and gender. Sometimes we get defensive. Sometimes we’re so certain our opinion is the “correct” one that we’re not really listening to the other person. Charles will explore these issues by sharing his experience as a writer, teacher, and social and political activist and will invite participants to share their thoughts and experiences as well.  Co-sponsored by Arlington Commission for the Arts and Culture, Arlington Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Robbins Library. Limited to 25; open to all members of the community.

This workshop, taught by artist and entrepreneur Anna Koon, is designed for every artist regardless of skill and professional level. Understanding and handling the finances of your creativity can be overwhelming. This workshop will cover topics like: deductions for artists, year-round bookkeeping, creating a budget, taxes, accounting tools, and ways to keep track of your expenses. Participates will gain a confident understanding of how to effectively handle their finances no matter how big or small their business aspirations are.

This class is free and open to the public on Zoom and is available to artists of all ages and levels of experience. Please have something to take notes for your reference. Pre-registration is required to receive the link to the workshop.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Arlington Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Learn the basics of glass fusing while having fun playing with glass shapes, colors, and textures. First learn how to use glass powders, frits, glass beads, and stringers. Then design and create your own sushi set featuring two small 6” x 6” plates and one large serving dish (4″ x 13″ channel plate, 8" x 8" square or 8" circle), perfect to serve sushi, cheese and crackers, or desserts. Tuition includes $125 materials fee. Additional pieces can be made for an extra fee. The instructor will fire your pieces in his kiln and return them to ACE within a week.

This virtual talk with Dr. Robert Krim will focus on how Boston became and remains a global center for innovation told through 50 world-changing inventions. The talk is based on his book Boston Made: From Revolution to Robotics, Innovations that Changed the World, co-authored with Alan Earls. Since the 1600s, Boston has been at the forefront of world-changing innovation from starting the country's first public school to becoming the first state to end slavery and giving birth to the telephone. In total, Boston-area inventors have contributed more than 400 hundred stand-out social, scientific, and commercial innovations and uncounted numbers that are less well known. Boston Made tells the absorbing stories of 50 of these - and why they are no accident. From boom to decline and back to boom, Boston has maintained an ability to reinvent, and build anew. Dr. Krim with technologist Alan Earls have developed and outlined a new interpretation of how a resilient city has flourished. At a time when the national and global economy is reeling from pandemic shockwaves, the authors have laid out what a dynamic world-class city has done in the face of adversity to find a fresh and successful path forward.

The 25th Anniversary performance of "On A Winter's Night" brings five of the brightest stars in the singer/songwriter movement for the past three decades together again and for the first time at Arlington's Showplace of Entertainment, Christine Lavin, John Gorka, Patty Larkin, Cheryl Wheeler, and Cliff Eberhardt will appear for this one-night-only concert that you cannot miss!