Dear ASI Friends,
In over 22 years of serving the community, ASI has never cancelled its programs and shut its office doors. Last week, Art Sphere Inc. ended our winter semester early at recreation center, library and school art programs and shut down our office hours. In keeping with the City of Philadelphia’s recently ordered measures to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus in our community and a practical article about the math behind social distancing in the Washington Post, we will stay closed until the end of March. We are saddened by these current events. For so many of our students and volunteers, our arts programs are neighborhood safe sanctuaries where community can create and be in their happy places but we also understand that staying home in the next few weeks will curb the spread of the virus and save lives (as Mel Brooks says @Melbrooks #DontBeASpreader). We apologize for any inconvenience and will let you know as soon as we know when we will be able to re-open.
It is our hope to start our Spring semester April 1 with the timely unveiling of our Perseverance Through the Arts programs with the goal to teach resilience and leadership in stressful times. Please see some of the wonderful highlights below from this past semester that remind us of the beauty humanity has to offer one another and excite everyone for the future.
In the meantime, ASI staff will also be working remotely to continue to serve the public and will post updates as circumstances evolve. ASI plans to offer virtual online art programs and is distributing free lesson plans via social media daily to coincide with the Philadelphia School District closing for the next two weeks.
ASI encourages parents to take time to talk with their child about the COVID-19 outbreak, answer questions and share facts about it in a way that they can understand. Kids need to be reassured that it is ok if they feel upset that school is closed, programs are cancelled, that they can’t spend time with friends, neighbors and extended family or are feeling mad, sad or scared. Adults can help reassure children that they are safe by making art and listening to music together to relax, creating regular exercise routines and scheduling time for learning activities. Please contact info@artsphere.org to sign up for online classes or for any questions.
We wish everyone resilience and health in these times that challenge us to respond rapidly to change and thank you for your support.
Warmly,
Kristin
Art Sphere inc is honored to be a Philadelphia Cultural Fund 2020 Art & Culture Grantee. This grant allows us to further our creative work for the good of our community and for all Philadelphians. We extend our deepest thanks to Penn Treaty Special Services District for its upcoming support of our upcoming Fishtown Spring and Summer Programs. Our staff is grateful to the Citizens for the Arts for a professional development grant for our staff to attend the Educator’s Summit and share our learning in upcoming staff trainings and student curriculum. See a full list of locations on our Spring 2020 Schedule.
ASI Winter Highlights
Our talented music instructor proudly shared a picture of one of his students and this comment “Our Guitar GURU – It is easy to captivate a crowd with his personality. We provide the right instruments.”
Southwark
MLK Day of Service: Monday, January 20, 2020
We are so grateful for everyone that came out and worked so hard at our MLK Day of Service Community Project , including Stuzo, Bethany Church, Gamma Sigma Sigma, CMI Media/Compas, Compass Pro Bono, South Philadelphia Co-op and individual volunteers! Your partnership and support helps us fulfill our mission of bringing high-quality arts programs to at-risk students in Philadelphia. We had two shift 9-12 and 12-3 and 50 + volunteers.
Stuzo helped us in so many ways that really will make an amazing impact on the lives of our students this Winter. We received over $800 worth of art materials that we will give directly to youth to take home. We also prepped over 400 projects for our upcoming workshops. You can follow their good work @ #stuzocares!
We also want to thank everyone who came our to join us on
Saturday, February 1 – Ground Hog Day at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge where ASI had a craft table set up from 10-1 p.m. with different environmental education art projects and Temple Alum and Temple University social worker students assisted.
Friday, February 7 – Valentines for Veterans at Fishtown La Colombe from 5-7pm where volunteers helped us make over 200 Valentine’s Day Cards for Veterans and Seniors.
If you are interested in volunteering virtually please visit our website, Volunteer Match, or email volunteer@artsphere.com for more information. We accept donations through PayPal, GoFundMe, our Amazon Smile account, and through our website here. Donations are tax deductible and directly support our cause.
See Photos of our Music Programs at Southwark
See Photos of our music and meditation programs at Fishtown Recreation Center
See photos of our Literacy Through Music and Literacy Through Art Programs for families at the Fishtown Branch of the Free Philadelphia Public library
our painting program at Cohocksink
Penn Treaty School After School Program
Towey Recreation Center
Connect With Us on Social Media