During these trying times, Creative Kids has created and uploaded virtual art lessons to fulfill our service and dedication to our community. We look forward to the day that we can serve our youth in person again.
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Resiliency Art Program
Project RAP takes place on Saturdays from 10:00am – 1:00pm at the Creative Kids oLo Gallery (504 San Francisco Ave.) The studio classes provide group instruction as well as foundational art skills that are explored through various art mediums. Classes are open to ages 5-18.
Due to the popularity of the art classes, this program currently has a waiting list. Please email our Program Coordinator Yolanda Cisneros yolanda@creativekidsart.org with your child’s name and age and we will be in touch as soon as a slot becomes available.
Public Art Program
Creative Kids has various commissioned pieces that take form in public art. Our participants have had the opportunity to be a part of the permanent landscape of El Paso where participating youth have contributed to the murals that adorn the Downtown Pedestrian Pathway to the Points of Light sculptures underneath the Durango St. Bridge. They have also had the opportunity to create the Sundial sculpture at the Austin Pond Project to the steel sculptures that line the Carolina Bridge to tile murals that serve as mile markers at the Playa Drain Trail. Future projects include the new El Paso Children’s Museum where they will be responsible for the creation of the Fantastic Animals exhibit that will feature steel alebrije creatures.
Points of Light:
Located underneath the Durango Bridge, three six- foot diameter steel piñatas hang from the bridge decking, weaving Mexican culture with color theory and imagery. The three piñatas evoke a spirit of festivity in the Durango Bridge underpass space marking the boundary of the Union Plaza Entertainment District. Each pointed cone is lighted from the inside and marked with cutout shapes, projecting light onto adjacent surfaces. Visit Piñatas here.
Reflections of the Desert:
Located on the Pedestrian Pathway in Downtown El Paso, this mural reveals the strength, symbolizing El Paso and Juarez celebration and rich culture that is the essence of the Borderland. A woman looks beyond the horizon, toward the future with determination. Piñatas showcase some of El Paso’s hallmarks: the star on the mountain, the beautiful desert landscape and spectacular sunsets.
Union Plaza Kiosks:
The Downtown Management District (DMD) has partnered with Creative Kids Inc., a non-profit educational community-based art agency to showcase public art created by local youth. The DMD is utilizing currently available space in Union Plaza kiosks to display beautiful artwork created by young artists participating in the Creative Kids programs.
Austin Pond Structure:
The Austin Pond Project is located in Manhattan Heights and is more than a flood-control structure. It is landscaped with walking paths and a shade structure designed by Creative Kids that mimics a giant paper airplane and is adorned with beautiful paint symbolizing woven thread done by Creative Kids participants. Visit Canopy here.
History Museum Mural:
Located on the Missouri Ave. side of the El Paso Museum of History mural draws inspiration from El Paso’s rich folklore. Creative Kids participants embody the images of culture and pieced them together like a colorful zarape. Showcasing the city’s natural desert plantlife and mountainous landscape, the local trolley transit system. Illustrating the people through pattern and their festive customs .Visit mural here.
Playa Drain Trail Installation:
The Playa Drain Trail is a 3.4-mile project that stretches from Ascarate Park to Riverside High School. This project is a partnership of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, City of El Paso and El Paso Water. The artwork is developed by Ysleta Independent School District students that were selected from area schools (Cedar Grove Elementary, Riverside High School, Riverside Middle School, Ascarate Elementary, Tejas School of Choice) to create murals that will be fabricated and installed in several locations along the Playa Drain Trail. Working with their teachers and Creative Kids to represent the culture, colors and habitat of the neighborhood that people will enjoy viewing along the trail. Visit trail here.
Woven Culture:
This sculpture is located on the Carolina Bridge located in the Mission Valley that stretches from Alameda Avenue to Franklin Drive, taking traffic over railroad tracks along the Franklin Canal. Creative Kids participants provided all the detail on this piece, through the intricate painting process showcasing our rich history where you find vibrant colors and depictions of our culture throughout the piece. Visit Bridge installation here.
City in Color
Woven Culture • Texas Highways Magazine
It’s hard to choose whether it’s best to see Woven Culture while driving or walking over the Carolina Bridge. A close-up view allows time to feel the textures and colors. Viewing from the car reveals the whole of it—a mesmerizing rainbow structure jutting into the sky. Along either side of the roadway, the piece includes sarape-like patterns and depictions of nopales, or prickly pear cacti. The team behind Creative Kids, a nonprofit that provides art education to youth in El Paso, created the sculpture with a group of eight children. “This piece was done to reflect the diverse and rich culture we have living on the border—hence the name,” Creative Kids executive director Andrea Gates-Ingle says. “This piece offers El Paso residents and visitors a symbol that signifies building bridges of community.” Click Here
oLo Gallery
Creative Kids draws on several areas of strength from a track record of twelve years in successful project management, including the oversight of numerous federal, state and local grants, as well as private and corporate funds. Creative Kids recently retrofitted a 16,000 sq. ft warehouse space known as the OLO Gallery (Other Learning Opportunities). OLO is located in Union Plaza Arts District in Downtown El Paso, and is the permanent home to Creative Kids’ Art Studios, Cooking Facility, Art Gallery, Multimedia Skills Development Center and administrative offices.
Creative Kids Garners National Attention
First Lady Michelle Obama presented the 2013 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award to El Paso’s Creative Kids Project AIM (Arts in Motion), a visual arts program for pediatric oncology patients will be recognized for its effectiveness in developing learning and life skills in young people by engaging them in the arts or humanities on Friday, November 22, 2013 at a ceremony at the White House East Room. The National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award is the highest national honor awarded to such programs. “We are honored for this program to be recognized by the White House, President and First Lady,” said Andrea Gates-Ingle who with her husband, Stephen Ingle, co-founded this program in 1999 at Providence Children’s Hospital. Project AIM has since expanded to include both children’s hospitals in El Paso, TX.
Miranda Luna, a participant in Project AIM, accompanied co-founder and Executive Director of Creative Kids, Andrea Gates-Ingle receive the award at the White House. In 2008, Miranda was a tender 10 years of age when she was delivered the news that she had Leukemia. Faced with a devastating diagnosis, Miranda immediately started treatment at Providence Children’s Hospital. It was then when she was first introduced to the Creative Kids hospital art program – Project AIM. Miranda gravitated towards the program and was always the first patient to be waiting for the art studio to be opened at the hospital. Whether it was painting, printmaking or dabbling in Photoshop and Illustrator, Miranda loved to be immersed in the art program as she said it helped to melt away her fear and anxiety of not knowing what the next day may bring. Over the years, Miranda has transformed from a shy young lady into a confident, outspoken young woman who, six years later, still loves to be engaged in the Creative Kids art program. The ceremony also included a speech by 12-year-old Danashiya Pritchard, a “Creative Kid” and participant in Project AIM in El Paso, Texas. Project AIM reaches over 1,000 children battling cancer in two area hospitals, offering art-mediated therapy in painting on canvas, printmaking, and graphic arts, among other art forms. Over Project AIM’s fourteen-year history, more than 250 pieces of the patients’ artwork have been showcased in more than six venues in the El Paso area.
Through these programs, young people are discovering their creative voices, developing a stronger sense of who they are as individuals, and gaining a deeper understanding of the world around them,” wrote Mrs. Obama in the program for the award ceremony. “And, as young people navigate today’s challenges, the programs we are honoring offer safe harbors that cultivate enthusiasm for learning, support academic achievement, and promote college readiness.”
Creative Kids was one of twelve organizations chosen from a pool of more than 350 nominations and 50 finalists. The award also comes with a $10,000 grant. The awards are administered by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Congratulations Creative Kids!
For more information about the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards,
visit www.pcah.gov.
