Arts District fosters creativity in community
Stanton Community Center has been a beacon of hope in the Clay Street community in downtown Annapolis for generations. They provide the community with free social services, employment services, gym use, after school programs, summer camps, and more. The Annapolis Arts District has been providing the Stanton Community Center with art supplies and arts education over the past few years. This fall the Annapolis Arts District also donated two artistic bike racks to the center so that children in the community would have a safe place to secure their bikeswhen they visit.
For the holidays this year, the Annapolis Arts District met up with Paulette Carroll, the Recreation Leader at the Stanton Community Center, and took her shopping for art supplies for kids in the neighborhood that regularly use the center. They purchased canvases, paint, brushes, drawing sets, and do- it- yourself craft kits. There are enough supplies to provide art classes and art activities for a few weeks this winter. The supplies will be used for both in- person art instruction and computerbased virtual learning.
Wine & Design on West Street is also teaming up with the Annapolis Arts District and the Stanton Community Center this winter to provide a free Zoom based painting class along with all the needed art supplies forupto 30kids.“With kids continuing to not be in traditional classrooms we wanted to make sure that free arts education continues in the community,” says Erik Evans, Executive Director of the Annapolis Arts District.
The kids enjoy learning and expressing their creativity through the arts. Last year during their summer camps the children created an art exhibit in the community center lobby using art supplies donated by the Annapolis Arts District and worked with professional artists from Future History Now as they helped paint the Star Theatre Mural in their community. Annapolis Arts District Board Member Jodi Danek says he looks forward to seeing what the kids create this year with their new art supplies.
This arts program is funded in part from grants from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, the Maryland State Arts Council, and donations from members of the community. The Annapolis Arts District is a 501c3 nonprofit and is accepting donations for those wishing to donate to future Stanton Center arts programming and other community initiatives.