FIRST NIGHT ART DAY CAMPS

In 2010, First Night ArtWorks! introduced a fee-based Summer Art Day Camp at the Archer Park Community Center, and followed up with a Fall Break Art Camp, where drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, puppetry, mixed media, printmaking and performance art happened! FNM Staff are professional artists and teachers and our goal is to nurture creativity and enhance art skills in a non-competitive, safe, fun environment. Each Friday we have a "performance or gallery exhibit" of the work completed during the past week. Some projects included:

• Learning the "ten key words" of drawing!
• Puppets - Large Walkable Moving Puppets, using recycled materials; the group made large-scale movable puppets.
• Introduced American artists to kids while offering hands-on art experiences in the styles of Great American Masters!

If you are interested in the Summer Art Day Camp or the Fall Break Art Camp for school children, see more details here. Registration forms are online and fees may be paid by credit/debit card or by PayPal.

ARTWORKS! PROGRAM AND MISSION

FNM’s Art Works! presents year-round, free arts workshops to introduce the visual and performing arts to children and adults throughout Monterey County and makes their work an integral part of the region’s largest New Year’s arts celebration. These workshops encourage an active involvement in and love of the arts. Young people and their families directly participate in hands-on workshops conducted by artists/educators in the months leading up to First Night. Often, these workshops offer important enrichment programs for community organizations with whom we partner to offer the workshops. The creative workshops culminate in exhibits and/or performances that become part of the First Night Celebration and are exhibited in other public venues throughout the region, such as the Monterey Peninsula Airport Gallery, Sunset Center, The National Steinbeck Center and Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco. These exhibits give voice to the viewpoints and philosophies of all our residents and illuminate the commonality of our world views.

Collaboration is woven into our philosophy of engaging both the artistic community and the greater community, bringing them together to enrich lives and promote understanding. We collaborate with approximately 50 artists, more than 20 schools and community and arts organizations, and hundreds of volunteers in order to be able to present our workshops and the Celebration. We collaborate with business partners such as MST to provide free transportation and with Del Monte Shopping Center to offer free parking and shuttles to our audience on December 31st, and with CSU Monterey Bay for design work for each year’s fresh new look. We also rely on many sponsors and donors in our community to be able to present these workshops and the celebration year after year.

The First Night Outreach Program is a wonderful example of our success.