Kurt Vonnegut said it best when he said, “Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake…Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”
Embracing creative experiences as a universal tool to improve quality of life, Teton Arts has set out to grow our program offerings to engage as many people as we can. Our weekly adult classes not only offer the opportunity to practice making pottery or painting but create a space for people to gather and socialize, strengthening our community through these creative experiences.
To further foster community, Teton Arts hosts free potlucks followed by art activities. These bi-weekly potlucks bring community members together to catch up or meet each other for the first time. Families are encouraged to come together and nourish their bodies and then to also exercise their imagination as they create! Our Bi-Annual open houses are a fun time when our neighbors can come together and enjoy the community studio. Family-friendly art activities and events like scavenger hunts or collaborative community art projects give everyone an opportunity to work together and create.
We engage children in art through field trips with school groups, after-school art programs, and summer camps. Field trips are a great way for teachers to use Teton Arts as a resource to reinforce classroom education adding more creative outlets for their young learners. Our after-school programs provide inspiring childcare at our elementary schools making it easy and convenient for working families. Summer camp has been a growing program where we have designed an interactive and fun environment for kids to create and grow their imaginations throughout the summer. Our summer programs are choice-based allowing kids to determine the activities and art mediums they work with every day. Playing outside, especially during group-building games, teaches kids key aspects of community, collaboration, and teamwork as they learn to work together. Creating an environment where kids feel safe exploring their imaginations and practicing their creativity allows them to grow in incredibly impactful ways.
To ensure that every family in our valley has access to these programs, we offer sliding scale scholarships. Families are invited to apply for scholarships, paying what they can to attend our programs. To this day we are proud to share that we have never turned away a scholarship applicant. Through scholarships, work-trade, and free community potlucks we aim to make opportunities for everyone in Teton Valley to join us and create!
