fall 2023-spring 2024 afterschool classes
Our afterschool program includes classes and clubs for youth (ages 7-14) and teenagers (ages 13+). Our Youth Afterschool Program (ages 7-14) includes our Tuesday Roots & Rebels Garden Club, and Wednesday Arts Under the Sun program. We’ll also be offering a BIPOC-only open studio SJLA Arts Lab for teenagers 13+.
Fall 2023 semester | Sep 18- Nov 19 (9 weeks)
Spring 2024 semester | Mar 25-Jun 2 (10 weeks)
This application is for both the Spring 2023 and Fall 2024 semesters. The Fall semester is 9 weeks long and the Spring semester is 10 weeks long, with a winter break during which programs will be on pause (aside from special events and break camps!) Winter break will take place between Nov 20-Mar 24.
Enrollment and cost: These programs are FREE. Given the limited size of our current program offerings, priority for these after-school programs will be given to students currently enrolled in the Hudson City School District, and residents of Bliss Towers, Schuyler Court, Hudson Terraces, and Providence Hall. If you’re interested in participating or learning more, apply by September 1.
Note: Kite’s Nest is a multi-racial space that centers BIPOC leaders, educators, and youth. We believe that uprooting white supremacy within our community requires collaboration across all groups, and that working together with families helps us maintain anti-racist values within program spaces. White families joining us this year will be invited to join us for a required anti-racism orientation.
In response to the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, our team will continue to make collective decisions to ensure the safety of our community to the best of our ability.
ROOTS & REBELS GARDEN CLUB
Tuesdays | | 3 - 6pm | Ages 7-12
Fall 2023 Semester | Sep 19- Nov 14 (9 weeks)
Spring 2024 semester | Mar 25-Jun 2 (10 weeks)
Get your hands dirty at the River City Garden! Care for seedlings, make art and try yummy recipes. —with Sharece Johnson and Nellie Ostow
Join us every Tuesday afternoon in the Fall and Spring for the Roots & Rebels Garden Club! We’ll meet each week during the semester at our River City Garden to plant seeds and grow plants, explore the new Kite’s Nest greenhouse, prepare and eat delicious meals, and do arts and crafts inspired by nature. We’ll examine the bugs and microbes in our healthy soil, learn to grow herbs and medicines, and practice making our own soil and compost. We’ll draw and observe what’s happening in our raised beds, create garden art projects, and of course play our favorite games outside!
This program is FREE. If you would like to make a donation to support the program, we suggest $100-$500.
arts under the sun
Wednesdays | 3 - 6pm | Ages 10+
Fall 2023 Semester | Sep 20- Nov 15 (9 weeks)
Spring 2024 semester | Mar 27-Jun 2 (10 weeks)
Explore all the arts under the sun through different hands-on art projects and field trips to local galleries and artists’ studios! —with Sharece Johnson and Nellie Ostow
Join us every Wednesday for all the art projects you can dream of under the sun! Each week we will be using different materials to express ourselves. We will write and record music, practice making oral history podcasts, design self portraits and make puppets. We will also go out into the world to gather inspiration from other artists and makers! We may visit a theater and see a show, tour local art studios and explore amazing galleries in our backyard!
This program is FREE. If you would like to make a donation to support the program, we suggest $100-$400.
sjla OPEN STUDIO ARTS LAB
Fridays | 3:30 - 7PM | Ages 13+ (7 weeks)
Dates to be determined
An open studio for BIPOC youth to express stories of freedom and practice building community. — with Donnay Edmund and Jeannette Rodríguez Píneda
Toni Cade Bambara famously said “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” This spring, youth will deepen their connection with art as a means of self-liberation and interdependence. They will explore art mediums they already feel passionate about and maybe some new ones! We’ll explore music, visual art, poetry, and more. SJLA’s spring semester will be an open studio art lab for teens to explore their own identities, stories, and lives. Youth will connect their stories to collective journeys towards freedom, and create art that expresses their visions for the future. An intergenerational space, we will invite artists from the community to come into the lab to work alongside us and share their practices. This space will be an experimental zone each day, where youth can tap into what is on their heart as inspiration and activate their unique creativity. We will culminate the seven-week lab by sharing the projects we have been working on with our friends and families.
This program is free. Teens ages 13+ are welcome to apply. If you would like to make a donation to support the program, click here.