CraftNOW and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation are once again partnering for the city’s biggest free art class, CraftNOW Create, in an effort to keep local students engaged throughout the summer break.
Since the summer camp program was launched, CraftNOW Create has served nearly 20,000 campers, and it continues to grow annually. This year, from July 7 to Aug. 15, arts-focused summer program will see 129 sites open across various Philly neighborhood recreation centers. Through this program, CraftNOW will also coordinate with local galleries and museums, including the Clay Studio, to provide over 10,000 hours of free craft instruction to 6,000 children.
“We’re very lucky to be partnering with Parks and Rec because it gives us an entrance to those neighborhoods,” CraftNOW’s Executive Director Emily Edelstein told Metro. “The sad reality is there’s not a lot of arts and crafts and culture in public schools, and so it’s something that we as a craft community, love, but we also want next generation to have access to… Being able to bring it to those neighborhoods, bring in a teaching artist from another part of Philadelphia, is something that is really impactful, because those kids would not have that experience otherwise.”
CraftNOW aims to introduce Philly’s next generation to the greater art world while giving them an opportunity to embrace themselves in arts. One way they will do so is by including take-home kits, in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in addition to the many activities throughout CraftNOW Create’s summer camp.
“The camp experience is really the first spark, the first experience touching clay, cutting fabric, things like that,” Edelstein said. “The take-home kits are great because they do leave the kids with something to work on at home. They have some coloring materials and books, but I think the most powerful part of those take-home kits is the museum pass.”
The included pass allows a child and up to five family members free admission to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art offers free entrance to those 18 years and younger, however often the financial struggle lies in the admission of the parents, guardians, or other adults attending with children. For the Museum to provide admission for an entire family is “incredibly generous,” Edelstein says.
In addition to the main summer camp and the take-home kits, CraftNOW is once again hosting its craft-intensive Gap Week camps.
During the gap weeks, two participating recreation centers will host CraftNOW partners who will provide multi-day art instruction sessions and take youth on tours of Philadelphia’s signature and most renowned galleries. This year, the Gap Week art camps are set to return to Elmwood Park’s James Finnegan Playground and Feltonville’s Ferko Playground for the first week, from June 23 to 27. The second gap week will be hosted at Clearview’s Eastwick Regional Playground and Gray’s Ferry’s Vare Recreation Center from Aug. 18 to 22.
“It’s literally the gap between when public schools start and end. These are special camps held at four rec centers across the city, and it is a fully funded weeklong camp for up to 30 kids,” Edelstein said. “And so they go all week. It’s completely funded by us, and it’s a mixture of teaching artist visits, but also field trips. And so we pay for a bus. The kids get on the bus, they go to the Magic Gardens, and they go to Design Philadelphia and meet architects and designers.”
This summer, whether you’re looking for some summer fun for your child or looking to give them an introduction to the beauty of the arts, CraftNOW Create is the perfect chance to broaden their horizons.
“There’s something about the mind body connection of, you know, putting your hands on clay or paper or paint and actually working with your hands, that I think is so special in craft and in today’s world, you don’t get as many opportunities to do. And it’s really fun to see the kids get into it.”
Up to 30 children ages 6 to 12 can register tuition-free at CraftNOW’s Gap Week. Registration is required. For more information on CraftNOW, visit craftnowphila.org.
