The Art Guild of Port Washington, Inc. (TAG), and Littig House Community Center have joined forces to create a free, twice-monthly after-school art education program to benefit nearly sixty Port Washington children and to run the length of 2023.
“The partnership between Littig House Community Center and The Art Guild provides a wonderful opportunity for youth from Kindergarten to seventh grade to gain exposure to the arts and its history through hands-on, interactive experiences with community art instructors,” Littig House Executive Director Lynette Batts said, who has been at the helm of this and many other critical social initiatives supporting children and families. “The curriculum gained from this partnership will support youth with knowledge and greater familiarity of artists, their work and designs that spans across decades and techniques. As we will extend their learning to future field expeditions to museums and art institutions, the youth will now have a connection to what they are seeing and experiencing. That, in itself, is powerful.”
Founded in 1951, Littig House Community Center has served Port Washington families for over 70 years, providing programs and services designed to reduce the negative effects of social, economic and educational disparities that may impede social development and mobility.
“Focusing on community outreach has always been a priority for The Art Guild,” Lisa Grossman, TAG’s executive director, said. “And I’m so pleased we finally have the bandwidth to reach out for collaboration with Littig House.”
Grossman has been with TAG for five years, and in this short time it has become clear to her that accessibility to art is a must.
“Our whole community benefits with a project like this,” Grossman said. “By working to ensure children have access to making art, TAG is helping to build a more equitable future for all residents of Port Washington.”
Classes began at Littig House Community Center in January.
As part of the collaboration, TAG provides two art instructors (Manuel Villalobos and Marshaun Stapleton), which allows for two simultaneous yet separate age-appropriate sessions divided by age. As listed in the syllabus, the course includes lessons on perspective, portrait drawing, clay bust sculpture and American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Students are supplied with the various materials necessary for each lesson, discuss relevant art history and are taught the vocabulary associated with each technique/medium.
Funding for this year-long program is provided by the Estate of Laura Sann Osrow, donated by her son and Port Washington resident Steven Sann.
Laura Sann Osrow, a resident of Jericho at the time of her passing in September at the age of 88, was a lover of the arts in every form. A mother and stepmother to ten children, and a social worker for the Commack school district spanning two decades, Laura spent the last 18 years of her life as a docent at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn, volunteering several days each week.
“The opportunity to sponsor a program such as this was a no-brainer,” Steven Sann said. “Funding creative instruction for children is the perfect marriage of the two things that brought my mother Laura much joy— both counseling students and volunteering at a museum in an effort to help people connect with art. I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to honor my mother in this way, with a program that she would have loved.”
The Art Guild of Port Washington, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to creating an inclusive and enriching home for visual arts education, exploration and exhibition.
Located on Elderfields Preserve, a property and structure dating back to 1675 and owned by Nassau County, TAG is an organization open to all people with a common goal to advance the visual arts.
For more information call 516.304.5797 or visit their website: www.TheArtGuild.org.
