A High Five for Artscope

Whew! We made it through 2020. High five!

At Artscope we know that the skills that art-making teach transfer to all areas of life: skills like envisioning, problem-solving, and perseverance. In this pandemic year of 2020, we found out just how critical these skills are for those of us who work at Artscope, our school and community partners, and for the families and young people we serve, as we all navigated challenges we could not even have imagined a year ago. 

This year led Artscope to innovate new ways of doing everything. 

• When we were under stay-at-home orders, we jumped with both feet into online creative learning with our Try This at Home with Artscope video series, fun creative projects children could make with what they could easily find around their homes, created by our teaching artists, from their homes. 
• When we had to cancel our first six weeks of Summer Camp Create, we quickly created Artscope in a Bag, art supplies plus how-to videos with our teaching artists that allowed kids to do at home what we do at our Cottage in Tower Grove Park. 
• When we knew we could not safely practice social distancing in the Cottage, we moved everything outside, masked up, doused ourselves in hand sanitizer, and had a successful shortened session of Covid-19 Summer Camp Create. 
• And when we went back to our partner schools in the fall, our remarkable Artists-in-Residence embraced virtual learning along with their students, offering what we normally do in classroom art studios on Zoom, so students can continue to receive high-quality arts instruction despite building closures. 

We made it!  But we are not anywhere near "back to normal" yet. As a small nonprofit arts organization, we've faced unprecedented financial challenges this year created by cancellation of regular programming. 

We also have big dreams! Before the pandemic hit, we worked with Dr. Amber Johnson and The Justice Fleet to re-think our organizational mission and values through an anti-racist lens, using radical imagination. Out of that work, we've created a vision of growing and expanding beyond our current footprint to intentionally include more young people and families in our creative programming. 

We can't do this without the support of our generous community. We hope you'll consider encouraging us in our work by giving us a High Five!  A donation of $5 or more can fund a variety of needs.  

And, if you donate $25 or more, you'll be entered in a drawing to win an art party for up to 15 with an Artscope teaching artist, either virtual or live, sometimes in 2021. You provide your favorite people, we'll provide all the arts supplies and treats!

Click the FUND A NEED  button below to find out how you can High Five Us!  Or give us a Fist Bump, a Firm Handshake, A Virtual Hug or even a Secret Handshake!

We believe the power of art and creativity will get us through this and towards a bright future for St. Louis youth!  We hope if you share that belief with us, you'll give us your High Five.

Emily Kohring, Executive Director

On behalf of Artscope's Board and Staff