Register for FREE classes!
Marwen offers free studio classes and workshops, plus special events for families and supporters throughout the year.
Registration is officially closed for Fall Term 2024, but we have a few spots available (see class listings below). Reach out to us at registrar@marwen.org ASAP!
Marwen’s free programs exist for young artists in Chicago who want to explore visual arts, can commit to a multi-week art class, are in 6-12th grades during the 2024/25 school year, and do not have access to arts programming due to financial and systemic barriers. Learn more about our values and how we invest in the power of young artists.
Returning student? You’re first in line to select classes! Online registration is open July 29 - September 3, 2024 at marwen.org/registration. Bookmark this link now and add it to your calendar so you get first pick of Fall classes.
New to Marwen? Welcome!
Step 1: Complete our Interest Form.
Step 2: Select your New Student Orientation date and RSVP. (We will also follow up via email after you've submitted the interest form.)
Orientations are held Saturday, August 10 and Saturday, August 24. You will get a full tour of our galleries and studios, meet staff, and be able to register for classes on the spot. There is also a virtual orientation option available on Saturday, August 31 (in-person is recommended).
Key information:
Fall term runs September 18 - November 23, 2024.
Fall term offers 23 unique classes (see all listing below).
Each class meets one day a week for 2.5 hours and runs for 10 weeks.
Classes are held on Wednesdays 5-7:30 pm, Thursdays 5-7:30 pm, Fridays 5-7:30 pm, and Saturdays 10 am - 12:30 pm and 1:30-4 pm.
Click here to read Marwen Eligibility Requirements.
All art materials and supplies are provided by Marwen and our generous donors.
All experience levels are welcome!
Young people can register for up to 2 classes per term.
Registration is first come, first-served.
Have questions? Reach out to us anytime at registrar@marwen.org or via text at 312.374.2968.
MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSES
1. Cameras in Action: Digital Photo
Teaching artist: Joselyn Corona (she/they)
6-8th grade
Saturdays, September 18 - November 23, 1:30-4 pm
Studio 1 | Status: CLASS FULL
Refine your photography skills by capturing the essence of individuals and groups. Learn the art of planning and executing a photoshoot from scratch, using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. Enhance your images with editing software like Lightroom and Photoshop to create truly remarkable scenes.
2. Not Your Basic Stitch: Embroidery
Teaching artist: Mel Cook-White (she/they)
6-8th grade
Thursdays, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 8 | Status: 7 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Love to draw and paint? Turn your drawings into beautiful embroidered pieces you can wear! Learn different techniques like split stitch, french knot, and beading to create new designs on your fabric. Embroidery is like painting with thread.
3. Vibrant Visions: Introduction to Oil Painting
Teaching artist: Mel Cook-White (she/they)
6-8th grade
Saturday, September 18 - November 23, 1:30-4 pm
Studio 4 | Status: CLASS FULL
Get a crash course in oil painting, color mixing, and painting techniques to capture anything and anyone you see! Develop your style through individual and collaborative projects that challenge you to paint from real life models.
4. Frame by Frame: Filmmaking Basics
Teaching artist: Philip Alvy (he/him)
6-8th grade
Thursdays, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 3 | Status: 4 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Let’s make movies! Explore the fundamentals of visual storytelling and film production, including screenwriting, directing, camera operation, editing, and producing. Build your skills while creating music videos and several short video projects.
5. 3D Printed Jewelry
Teaching artist: Nathan Knize (he/him)
6-8th grade
Wednesday September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 1| Status: 4 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Craft a unique jewelry collection by blending 3D printing with traditional techniques. Gain skills in TinkerCad, Nomad Sculpt, and chainmaille patterns to design rings, bracelets, pendants, and earrings. Enhance your creations by experimenting with elements that can be added to your design.
6. Animation for Beginners
Teaching artist: Isaiah Griggs
6-8th grade
Saturday September 18- November 23, 10 am - 12:30 pm
Studio 1 | Status: CLASS FULL
Learn how to build your very own characters! Animate new characters with the 3D software Blender, and develop short animations through a series of guided projects from storyboard to final production. Whether you're an aspiring animator or simply curious about the art form, this course will guide you through the essential principles and techniques of animation.
7. Mask Magic: Paper Mache Sculpture
Teaching artist: Elio Baseman
6-8th grade
Thursdays, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 5 | Status: 10 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Explore paper mache techniques in this mask-making class. Learn about different masks and their function throughout history. Use materials like paper mache, soft sculpture, and makeup. Bring your mask to life with a photoshoot or performance.
8. Prints & Chills: Spooky Printmaking
Teaching artist: Jose Casales (he/him)
Grades 6-8th grade
Saturdays, September 18 - November 23, 1:30-4 pm
Studio 7 | Status: CLASS FULL
Get spooky with printmaking! Take inspiration from your favorite horror icons, stories, and aesthetics to create unique, spooky artworks using traditional and experimental printmaking methods. Learn screen printing by creating designs that will give you chills.
9. Rug Crafting: Creating Cozy Art
Teaching artist: Eseosa Edebiri (she/ze)
6-8th grade
Saturdays, September 16 - November 18, 10 am - 12:30 pm
Studio 8 | Status: CLASS FULL
Create a rug from your imagination! Use yarn and textiles to learn techniques such as punch needles, loop and cut piles, and tassels. By the end of this course you will create a cozy addition that you can hang or lay out in your home.
10. Tile Tales: Exploring Mosaics
Teaching artist: Cassandra Schifano (she/her)
6-8th grade
Saturdays, September 18 - November 23, 10 am - 12:30 pm Studio 5 | Status: CLASS FULL
Excited to create mosaic art works? Develop your skills in cutting, arranging, and sticking mosaic pieces onto different surfaces. By the end of the class, you'll have created beautiful mosaic artworks and gained the skills to use glass cutter, tile nippers.
11. Tech Tees: Digital T-Shirt Design
Teaching artist: Marz (she/her)
6-8th grade
Wednesday, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm Studio 3 | Status: CLASS FULL
Bring your fashion ideas to life in this t-shirt design class! Use Adobe Photoshop to create your own designs, and learn the principles of design, including color theory, typography, and composition to craft eye-catching t-shirt graphics.
12. Building Mini Worlds: Handbuilding Ceramics
Teaching artist: Christina Sadovnikov
6-8th grade
Thursday, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 6| Status: 3 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Welcome to the world of hand building where you’ll create your own imaginative worlds! Learn the basics of working with ceramics, then sketch your ideas, and bring them to life by constructing miniature homes and small characters or objects.
13. Creative Layers: Mixed Media Painting
Teaching artist: Jesus Gonzalez Flores
6-8th grade
Wednesday, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 4 | Status: 6 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Explore experimental painting and figure drawing, using watercolors, acrylic paint, charcoal, and oil pastels to create expressive artworks on canvas and cardboard. Through a series of projects you will gain a variety of mixed media painting skills!
HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES
14. Make it Functional: Advanced Ceramics
Teaching artist: Janiece Maddox (she/her)
9-12th grade
Saturday, September 18 - November 23, 1:30-4 pm
Studio 6 | Status: 2 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Learn advanced ceramics techniques, and create functional and stylish works of art. Gain skills in hand-building techniques like coiling, pinching, slabs, and wheel throwing to craft one-of-a-kind mugs and plates. Get ready to elevate your creativity and advance your ceramics expertise!
15. Graffiti Fundamentals
Teaching artist: Miguel Del Real (he/him)
9-12th grade
Saturdays September 18 - November 23, 1:30-4 pm
Studio 5 | Status: CLASS FULL
Express yourself through the vibrant medium of graffiti! Learn the fundamentals of graffiti art, like how to create tags, throw-ups, and larger pieces using spray paint or markers. This class will inspire you to transform ideas into bold, eye-catching works of art.
16. From Negatives to Prints: Darkroom
Teaching artist: l o t i Walker (she/her)
9-12th grade
Thursdays September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 2 | Status: 8 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Explore black-and-white darkroom photography, and experience this medium through a different lens. Discover techniques to help you develop better photographs in the darkroom while learning to create different composition styles, like portrait and architecture. Use negatives to enlarge your photos and print on photo paper.
17. Bold Brushstrokes: Oil Painting Class
Teaching artist: Jessica Zawadowicz (she/her)
9-12th grade
Saturdays, September 18 - November 23, 10 am - 12:30 pm
Studio 4 | Status: 1 SPOT AVAILABLE
Unleash your creativity, and take your painting skills to the next level! Dive into projects that include oil paint mixing demos and painting from observation both indoors and outdoors. This class will visit museums, translate drawings into paintings, and do fun group drawing activities.
18. Digital Spaces: Photography and Digital Media
Teaching artist: Maria Burundarena
9-12th grade
Saturdays, September 18 - November 23 , 10 am - 12:30 pm
Studio 3 | Status: 12 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Explore the connection of your reality or imagination to transform real spaces. Use Adobe Photoshop to blend, distort, cut out, and reassemble elements into striking digital collages. By the end of the course, you will understand how digital compositions function as powerful tools to create visual narratives.
19. Cyber Creations: Digital Art
Teaching artist: Crystal Beiersdorfer (she/they)
9-12th grade
Saturdays, September 18 - November 23, 1:30-4 pm
Studio 3 | Status: 8 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Make your own viral GIFs and digital art! Apply these new skills to construct your own interactive, web-based artworks using Downpour, an open-source tool. By the end of this course you will create videos, GIFs, and sounds to make your own digital collage.
20. Custom Jacket Design with Stitchgawd
Teaching artist: Stitchgawd (Emma McKee)
9-12th grade
Saturdays, September 16 - November 18, 1:30-4 pm Studio 8 | Status: 8 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Learn how to make a one-of-a-kind jacket from celebrity jacket-maker and embroiderer Stitch Gawd. Build skills in garment construction, dying, sewing, design, and branding. You will work in groups to complete jackets for some favorite celebrities. After finishing the jackets, the teaching artist will work to connect with and gift the celebrities your designs!
21. It’s Alive! Horror Films
Teaching artist: Maricela Ramírez (she/her)
9-12th grade
Fridays, September 18 - November 23, 5-7:30 pm
Studio 1 | Status: 12 SPOTS AVAILABLE
Learn the ins and outs of filmmaking to create your own short horror film. Gain experience in storyboarding, producing, directing, and editing while exploring career paths in the film industry and building your artist portfolio. Enjoy filming inside or outside of Marwen to film scary stories that will capture your audience.
Have questions? Reach out to us anytime at registrar@marwen.org or via text at 312.374.2968.
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