smARTIST in Residence: Playing with Paint with Allison Stewart
Explore the joy of painting with New Orleans artist Allison Stewart. In this four-week residency, participants will explore how line, form, color, and emotion can be used to express thoughts and feelings without words. Through hands-on exercises and experimentation, you’ll build confidence, discover your own creative voice, and reconnect with the simple joy of making—without judgment or expectation. No prior experience is necessary, and all materials are provided.
September 8: Line
Experiment with vine and compressed charcoal to explore how line can express emotion and movement.
September 15: Form
Turn lines into shapes and explore value through black, white, and gray-scale painting.
September 22: Color
Experiment with a simple palette of primary colors to create secondary and tertiary colors.
September 29: Emotion
Bring line, form, and color together to create an abstract or representational painting, followed by a relaxed show-and-tell about the experience.
5-6:45PM
ages 18+ | $30 a class
Drop in for one class or join us for all four!
Cultivate and Create: Mixed Media
Explore the beauty of the natural world through a four-week art course with artist Jessie Vogel Brown. Each session introduces a new medium and creative process, giving participants the opportunity to build artistic skills through experimentation and hands-on making. All skill levels are welcome, and materials are provided. Participants are encouraged to bring natural elements from home to incorporate into their work.
September 10: Still Life Drawing with India Ink
Explore the fundamentals of drawing from life, composition, and expressive mark-making while creating still lifes inspired by flowers, branches, and leaves.
September 17: Color Theory in Acrylic Painting
Learn color theory and explore complementary, analogous, and triadic color relationships while creating a nature-inspired acrylic painting.
September 24: Monoprinting
Experiment with plant shapes and textures to create one-of-a-kind prints, incorporating rubbing techniques to explore texture in two and three dimensions.
October 1: Plaster Reliefs
Move from two-dimensional to three-dimensional art by creating clay molds from natural materials and casting them in plaster to create relief sculptures.
5-6:30PM
ages 18+ | $100 for 4 week course
YES! And…: A Theatre Improvisation Course
Join Samantha King in this four-week theatre improvisation course! Laugh, experiment, and learn to think on your feet while building listening, collaboration, imagination, and performance skills. No acting experience is required—just a willingness to try something new and have fun.
September 10: TheatreSports
Warm up the body and voice through improvisational games and exercises designed to sharpen your mind and embrace spontaneity.
September 17: Improvised Monologues
Learn the structure of a monologue, create original stories, and practice performing while developing tools to combat stage fright and public speaking anxiety.
September 24: Short Form Improv
Create short improvised scenes while exploring character development, storytelling, and spontaneity.
October 1: Long Form Improv
Build an entire improvised story through interrelated scenes and characters, with an emphasis on listening, collaboration, and allowing ideas to unfold.
5-6:30PM
ages 18+ | $100 for 4 week course
Underground Hip Hop Styles: Foundations & Cypher Culture
Explore the foundations of three influential underground street dance styles in this four-week series with Sophia Moses. Learn the history, music, movement vocabulary, and cultural roots of House, Waacking, and Breaking while building confidence, musicality, creativity, and freestyle skills. Open to all levels, the series culminates in cypher practice, where dancers can connect, express themselves, and put their new skills into motion.
September 10: Introduction to House Dance
Explore House grooves, rhythms, footwork, and musicality while learning foundational steps and movement concepts rooted in club culture.
September 17: Introduction to Waacking
Discover Waacking through expressive arm patterns, posing, musical interpretation, and performance while exploring its history and cultural roots.
September 24: Introduction to Breaking
Build a foundation in Breaking through top rock, footwork, freezes, and transitions while developing rhythm, technique, and body awareness.
October 1: Cypher Skills – Bringing It All Together
Put it all together through freestyle and cypher practice. Explore musicality, timing, cypher etiquette, and how to confidently express yourself while supporting the community around you.
5-6:30PM
ages 18+ | $100 for 4 week course
Creative Classrooms
Bring creativity into your classroom. Join KID smART Teaching Artists for hands-on professional learning that equips educators with practical arts integration strategies to engage students and enrich everyday learning.
Select Wednesdays
September 23 – Making Wind Visible
October 14 – Art for All: Arts Accessibility
October 28 – Creating with Electricity
November 4 – Layers with Levees
November 11 – TBD
December 2 – Playing with Light
December 16 – TBD
5-6:30PM (Dinner and networking provided at 4:30PM)
for educators | $20
Creative Clubhouse
It’s back! Create, explore, and make art—free every Saturday! Creative Clubhouse is a welcoming, hands-on studio experience where artists of all ages can experiment, connect, and create without judgment.
Saturdays beginning September
Visual Art, Drama, Dance!
9AM, 10AM, 11AM
all ages | FREE
Creativity x Community
brings people together through free, hands-on art experiences led by KID smART's incredible community partners. Join us on Saturday afternoons to create, connect, and discover local organizations offering inspiring programs for families across New Orleans. Open to all ages—children must be accompanied by an adult.
Saturdays - check our calendar for who we are collaborating with!
1PM
all ages | FREE
smARTIST in Residence: Stencil, Spray & Street Art with Brent Houzenga
Explore stencil making, painting, and spray art with New Orleans artist Brent Houzenga. In this four-week residency, participants will experiment with cutting stencils, abstract painting, wearable art, and spray painting while exploring the artist’s influences in street art, abstraction, portraiture, and experimentation. No prior experience is necessary; come ready to make, experiment, and get a little messy.
October 6: Introduction to Stencil Making
Learn the basics of stencil making using an X-Acto knife while exploring abstract designs, portraiture, and lettering. Participants attending all four sessions can develop more complex layered stencils throughout the series.
October 13: Indoor Abstract Painting with Stencils
Use handmade stencils, tape, and intuitive mark-making to experiment with abstract shapes, intersections, color combinations, and geometric forms.
October 20: Put It on a T-Shirt
Transform stencils into wearable art by creating designs on T-shirts using spray dye on white shirts and bleach on black shirts.
October 27: Outdoor Spray Painting
Bring your stencils and masking tape outdoors to create spray-paint masterpieces on canvas, combining the techniques explored throughout the residency.
5-6:45PM
ages 18+ | $30 a class
Drop in for one class or join us for all four!
ART JAM!
Celebrate creativity with the community. ART JAM! is KID smART's signature arts festival, bringing together local artists, hands-on art activities, live performances, food, music, and creative fun for all ages.
Saturday, September 19th
10AM-1PM
all ages | FREE
All Class Registrations go LIVE on
August 11th
*ALL Programming will resume in September.