Vision Peace - Art Workshop by Aleathia Brown
2026-01-24 18:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | The Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY, 10031, United States
Aleathia Brown, Master Teaching Artist, invites participants to design their very own “Vision Peace,” an image with elements that remind you of your purpose and goals. Manifesting is beautiful, powerful, and inspiring. Creating a shape visually impacts thoughts.
Plan to display your personal masterpiece in your living space (stare in wonder and reflection)
Be reminded when you view your “Vision Peace” that a new direction, little by little, requires action steps.

This session was inspired by renewal, sacred keeping, and time for Nu Beginnings…
Join me for a color-filled session of self-expression.
Date: Saturday, Jan 24, 2026, 6-9 pm
Location: Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY 10031

For Participants

Bring 3 small items belonging to you to surrender into your artwork
It should have a story to tell, reminding you of a moment touching your spirit

Example
1. My very first paintbrush
2. broken down but walked in a boot til I couldn’t anymore, willing to dissect parts of it
3. Buttons off a favorite sweater that I no longer wear, but has memory and gives me cozy reminders
Items to install in your artwork

Register

For: Adults/Seniors
Tickets: $48.50 (Payment Link: https://square.link/u/Sc5CJX4g)

Art Supplies included
Music Playlist by DJ Masai
Light Refreshments
Guidance for the Art workshop throughout is warmly available

Walkaway with Your new masterpiece

Non Artist’s and creatives welcomed

Payment Link: https://square.link/u/Sc5CJX4g

(Community Initiative: If unable to attend, sponsor a ticket or 2 for someone unable to pay, wanting to attend)

Register
Aleathia Brown
Teaching Artist
aleathiab.art@gmail.com

Aleathia Brown
Instagram: @aleathias_original_artworks

Gelli Printing on Fabric and Paper | CAC PRESS & PULL
2026-02-07 13:00 - 15:00
Facilitated by: Dindga McCannon
Class Date: Saturday, February 7
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Venue: The Children’s Art Carnival
Max. Participants: 15

Get ready to unleash your creativity with Gelli Printing on Fabric and Paper by Dindga McCannon – it’s going to be messy and fun!

Create vibrant, layered prints using Gelli plates on both paper and fabric! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll explore color, texture, and pattern while making your own prints and a collaborative fabric banner.
Perfect for all ages—no experience necessary, just bring your creativity!
FOR: Adults and Children over 6 years old. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Drop-off not allowed.
Max. Participants: 15
FEE:
Individual: $10
Parent and Child: $14
Parent and Two Children: $18
All materials included.

If you are bringing more than two children, please select Parent and Two Children and We appreciate suggested donations of $4/child upon your arrival.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today
Gelli Printing Artwork by Dindga McCannon

About the facilitators:

Dindga McCannon has been a WEUSI artist since the 1960s. She is a fiber and mixed-media artist, writer, illustrator, painter, wearable art maker, costume designer, muralist, printmaker, and mother. Her work fuses traditional needlework skills with fine art practices. In 1971, McCannon co-founded Where We At, a groundbreaking collective of Black women artists.
Photos from the fall 2025 workshop.
Space is limited: Sign up today!

Draw with Laura – all skill levels, all ages!
2026-02-08 14:00 - 16:00
Come join Laura for a fun day of drawing, no matter your skill level or age – creativity knows no bounds!
The 2nd Sundays of every month!

Class Dates:

Sunday, February 8
Sunday, March 8
Sunday, April 12
Sunday, June 14

Time: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
For: All Ages (Children must be accompanied by an adult. No drop-off allowed)
Fee:
Individual (adult) – $5
Parent and a child – $7
Parent and two children – $9
Parent and three children – $11
Registration is required to participate: REGISTER TODAY!
12 participants max

Think you can’t draw? Struggling with a sketch? We gotchu covered.

This welcoming class of teens, adults, and children with parents is “pencil positive”—fun and appropriate for artmakers of all levels:

Beginner: Learn to see with “artist eyes” and use pencils and makers to make beautiful drawings you are proud of!
Intermediate: For students with some experience who want to go further…Bring your own photos or receive subjects and style lessons to explore in class. Watch your talent start to shine!
Advanced: Get critique and help with a new or existing drawing—enhance your skills in composition, perspective, lighting, figure drawing, and narrative. Take your artistry higher!

Laura provides 1:1 instruction in an empowering group setting. Come regularly to make quick improvements with your drawing skills and artistry AND find new friends.

About the facilitator:

A resident of West Harlem since 2015, Laura King has a BS degree in environmental science and an extensive background in artmaking and teaching. She loves New York’s urban culture and color, while she is equally passionate about finding and celebrating nature in the city. Laura is a volunteer gardener at the Hamilton Grange, a certified animal rescuer, and an artist who takes delight in illuminating the natural beauty that can be found EVERYWHERE in our urban jungle. Her drawings express her love for nature on many levels, and she aims wholeheartedly to spark that joy and appreciation in her students, too.

Space is limited: REGISTER TODAY!

Photogram for Parent & Child by Hamilton Heights Darkroom
2026-02-21 12:00 - 14:00
Date: Saturday, February 21, 12-2 pm
For: Parent & Child (6yr +)
This is a fun introduction to the darkroom class. Students place objects on photographic paper and expose them to light, then develop the paper in our darkroom. The unusual combinations are personal expressions that utilize the student’s intuition.
Fee: $12 total (parent & child bundle)
Max participants: 6 people (3 families)

Online registration is required to participate: Register Now
.

Facilitators: Michael Macioce and Lenore Browne
Michael Macioce is a founder and the instructor at the Hamilton Heights Darkroom. Practicing photography from his East Village studio since 1982, he is known for combining fine art and documentary photography of the downtown music and art scenes.
A graduate of The School of Visual Arts (1990) Michael’s teaching career began at Parsons School of Design in 1994. He has taught photography at The New School, The School of Visual Arts and The Educational Alliance before founding The Hamilton Heights Darkroom.
He has exhibited at many galleries in the US and Japan, has had work shown in the Jewish Museum of Paris and was a featured photographer at the New York Photo Festival 2010 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, where he lectured an “Photographing Unseen New York.”
You can see his work at his website macioce.org and his instagram @maciocephotography

Lenore Browne started using a film camera after graduating high school. Although she later received business-related degrees, her passion lies with film photography and printing in a traditional darkroom. In her first attempt to display her photographs, Browne’s “Life Lines” was selected in a juried competition for exhibition at the Pen and Brush Gallery, in Greenwich Village, by Daile Kaplan, Vice President and Director of Photographs of the Swann Galleries, May 2009. Thereafter, she began documenting Harlem as it evolves through its Second Renaissance. Browne’s Harlem photographs have exhibited at Hamilton Landmark Galleries, Symphony Space, Harlem Hospital, Columbia University Barrie Russ, Harlem Fine Arts Show and the New York Public Library.
Browne is a founder and Board Member (President) of the Hamilton Heights Darkroom whose nonprofit mission is to provide photography and darkroom printing experience to youth and adults in the Harlem Community.

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About Hamilton Heights Darkroom:
Located in the historic Hamilton Heights neighborhood within Harlem, Hamilton Heights Darkroom (HHD) is dedicated to the preservation of traditional darkroom printing and film photography. Students use film cameras, and print from negatives in the darkroom as a basis to learn photography. HHD offers photography basics and darkroom printing for youth, teens and adult printers, from beginner level to advanced.
As darkrooms, photography and public school arts programs disappear, HHD strives to preserve both culture and photography in the Harlem community. HHD offers group printing classes, photography classes (film and digital) and discussion about current photography issues in a collegial setting. HHD collaborates with local community arts and culture organizations seeking youth and adults interested in photography.

Hamilton Heights Darkroom Workshops and all programs at The Children’s Art Carnival are made possible with funding from West Harlem Development Corporation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Ruth Foundation for The Arts and donations from New York Film Academy.

Collage/Mixed Media for Families
2026-02-28 13:00 - 15:00
Calling all Harlem families!
Come on out and join artist Elan Cadiz for her fun mixed-media classes designed for the whole family. We will build, cut, rip, draw, paste and more. Join us every 4th Saturday of each month. Each class will highlight a topic, and participants will leave with a one-of-a-kind collage.
Saturday, February 28
Theme: Architectural Collages
In this specialized collage workshop, we will look at the elements of architecture to guide our use of materials and the construction of our personal architectural assemblages.

Time: 1 to 3 pm
For: Families with children, but adults are welcome as well. Children must be accompanied by an adult. No drop-off allowed.
Fee:
Individual (adult) $5
Parent and One Child $7
Parent with Two Children $9
Parent with Three Children $11
(Or, donate-what-you-can)
Max participants: 18

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Urban Red, 2025. Elan Cadiz.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, March 28
Theme: Harlem Woman Artist Highlight
Join us this Woman’s History Month and celebrate the artworks of Harlem artist, Loïs Marilou Jones, with making a collage inspired by her prolific artworks.
Saturday, April 25
Theme: Earth Day Assemblages
In this specialized collage workshop participants will examine and re-imagine found object materials into sculptural structures.
Saturday, May 23
Theme: Rainy Day Collages
April showers bring May flowers. In this specialized collage workshop, we will create playful layered watercolor collages.
Saturday, June 27
Theme: JUNETEENTH Quilt Project
In the celebration of Juneteenth, this specialized collage workshop will highlight the use of visual arts to tell stories. Each participant will construct a panel of our community quilt, illustrating a story of freedom through the use of fabric, markers and paint.

About Facilitator: Elan Cadiz
Art Education is an important part of Elan’s artistic practice. She has instructed young people in the arts for 25 years and taught for or was in collaboration with programs/institutions such as the Police Athletic League (P.A.L), Astoria Beacon Program, Young Adult Institute (Y.A.I), Casa Duarte, P.S. /I.S. 180, Say Yes To Education (affiliated with Columbia’s Teachers College), Harlem School of the Arts, Thurgood Marshall Upper and Lower Academies, Harlem Gems (Harlem Children Zone), No Longer Empty, Cool Culture, Bank Street College, Weeksville Heritage Center, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Historical Society, Center for Arts Education, Community Works NYC, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Boys Club of New York City, Foster Pride, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, BridgeHampton Museum, Harlem NeedleArts, the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling and more.

Space is limited: Get your ticket today!

Color Sense - Art Workshop by Aleathia Brown
2026-02-28 18:00 - 21:00
Aleathia Brown, Master Teaching Artist, invites participants to design their very own masterpiece using your “Color Sense” as story gathering visuals through colorful elements that tap into your purpose and journey. There is a beautiful power inside the stories’ color that tells and informs.

We live in a world where emotions and feelings tap into our primary senses.
taste, smell, color, feel
This planet is filled with colors.
plants — green, fertility, and calmness
flowers -clouds tranquillity
Water and Sky- blue, boundless depth serenity, freedom
Red has emotional warmth.
Yellow is optimism
85% of People pay attention to a product because of its color.
Viewing the elements regarding the color wheel, participants will select 1 color to practice with. Next, each will be producing a visual story guided by Aleathia Brown, master teaching artist
Through demonstrations and a sample for viewing original works on paper, inspire creative pathways.
Date: Saturday, Feb 28, 2026, 6-9 pm
Location: Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY 10031

Register

For: Adults/Seniors
Tickets: $48.50 (Payment Link: https://square.link/u/Sc5CJX4g)

Art Supplies included
Music Playlist by DJ Masai
Light Refreshments
Guidance for the Art workshop throughout is warmly available
Walkaway with Your new masterpiece
Non Artist’s and creatives welcomed

Photos from the Jan 24 Workshop

Payment Link: https://square.link/u/Sc5CJX4g

(Community Support: If unable to attend, sponsor a ticket or 2 for someone unable to pay, wanting to attend)

Register
Aleathia Brown
Teaching Artist
aleathiab.art@gmail.com

Aleathia Brown

Instagram: @aleathias_original_artworks

Hand building with Clay for Beginners Only
2026-03-04 18:00 - 20:00
Community Clay Workshop in Harlem – No experience necessary!

Have you ever wanted to make your own mug or bowl? Well you can! Join us at the Children’s Art Carnival with artist, teacher, and Master ceramicist Early Rudolph to explore the possibilities of clay.
Early will guide 12 lucky students through the basics of ceramic arts. These 8-week courses will give participants practice with hand-building clay techniques, including pinching, coiling, and slab construction. Students will also learn ways to use different forms and tools to bring their creative ideas to life. The workshops will conclude with students’ artworks being professionally glazed and ready for use by the last class. This 8-week program will start on Wednesday, March 4, and will end on Wednesday, April 22.
Every Wednesday at 6 pm.
Dates: Wednesday, March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15, 22
Time: 6 to 8 pm (2 hr)
Fee: $150 for all 8 sessions
For: Adults
Max Participants: 12
All materials are included, and the tool will be provided. Please wear clothes ready to get messy, or bring old T-shirts or aprons.
Registration will close as soon as the course reaches capacity. The space is limited. Sign up today!

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

About the Facilitator:

Early Rudolph “My talent for art emerged at a very young age in elementary school, where it was first recognized. Teachers at my junior high school encouraged me by showcasing my work at PTA meetings, school openings, and art fairs. In the 1970s, I was selected to exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art as part of a showcase of outstanding works by high school students. I was also awarded a special scholarship to study sculpture at Brooklyn College for one year, where I honed my technique and deepened my understanding of various artistic mediums.
Since 1984, my studies at Greenwich House Pottery have opened numerous avenues in the world of functional ceramics and sculpture, providing exposure to gallery shows and opportunities to sell my work to art collectors. In the 1980s, I began teaching ceramics and sculpture in both the private sector and New York City government programs, instructing students of all ages—including children, adults, senior citizens, and individuals who are blind or differently-abled—helping them experience the beauty of art through the sensitivity of their hands.
Teaching Experience:

Sirovich Senior Center (1990s): Taught ceramics for 14 years.
Associated Blind, Inc. (1990–2000): Taught ceramics for 15 years.
Conducted workshops throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn during the 1980s and 1990s.
Visions for the Blind (late 1990s–early 2000s): Led 12-day workshops at their vacation camp in Spring Valley, NY, producing results at the conclusion of each session.This list only scratches the surface of my experience, but I hope it gives you a sense of my dedication to teaching and creating art.”

2025 Student works. We are so proud!

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Opening Reception: the 2nd Annual Alumni Exhibition "A Love Letter To Betty"
2026-03-06 18:00 - 20:00
Co-Curated by Dionis Ortiz and Jannette Jwahir
Exhibition Dates: February 28 – March 29
Opening Reception: Friday, March 6, 6 to 8 pm (RSVP)
Location: The Children’s Art Carnival Gallery, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY 10031
A Love Letter to Betty, the 2nd annual Alumni Exhibition honors the enduring legacy of the Carnival’s founder, artist Betty Blayton Taylor, and her commitment to creating the Children’s Art Carnival as a space where art empowers young people, their families, and artists, and serves to connect the community.
Rooted in the philosophy of her 1978 art education handbook, Making Thoughts Become, the exhibition reflects the Carnival’s continued belief that creativity transforms lived experience into meaningful expression. Featuring work created by Carnival alumni over five decades, this year’s show highlights the lasting impact of Betty’s vision and the generational power of art to build confidence, process memory, and sustain community.

Programs at the Children’s Art Carnival are made possible with funding from the Harlem Community Development Corporation, the New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Cultural Affairs, the West Harlem Development Corporation, and through contributions from West Harlem community members.

Linoleum Block Printing - Carve, Press, Repeat! - CAC PRESS & PULL
2026-03-07 13:00 - 16:00
Linoleum Block Printing – Carve, Press, Repeat!
Facilitator: Alannah Sears
Class Date: Saturday, March 7
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Venue: The Children’s Art Carnival
Max. Participants: 15
Ages 12+ (under 18 must be accompanied by an adult).
Adult: $10
Parent with One Child: $14
Parent with Two Children: $18
Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!

Alannah Sears
Ever wanted to create your own pattern or custom stamp? This workshop will show you how!
Participants will learn the art of linoleum carving (block printing) and hand-printing techniques to transfer their small, simple designs onto fabric. Bring clothes, tote bags, or extra fabric to print on during the session.
Tip: Carving takes time, so come prepared with a simple design to make sure you have enough time to print.
About the process:Lino printing is a traditional relief printmaking technique, often called lino cutting. It involves carving a design into a linoleum block using a sharp tool called a lino cutter. The raised (uncarved) areas are then inked with a brayer and printed onto paper or fabric using a baren or spoon. This method allows you to create multiple prints (called editions) of your artwork.
While we’ll touch on traditional block printing principles, this workshop is designed to help you develop your concept and understand the fundamentals of linoleum block printmaking—carving, inking, and creating reproductions.

About the facilitators:

Alannah Sears is a Brooklyn-based artist who investigates the complexities of the female experience through delicate graphite drawings. Her work challenges traditional representations of the female form, creating figures that defy gravity and conventional notions of beauty. These figures contort, elongate, squeeze, and fold in uncanny or impossible ways, embodying an ethereal beauty through the delicate interplay of light and shadow. She has exhibited her work at CUE Art Foundation, and Paradise Palace, and has been awarded residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center, Joan Mitchell Foundation (NY), and Vermont Studio Center.
Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!

CAC PRESS & PULL is a community-based printshop at The Children’s Art Carnival (CAC) in West Harlem, grounded in equity, access, and experimentation. Inspired by the legacy of Robert Blackburn and Betty Blayton-Taylor, the program emphasizes non-traditional and accessible printmaking techniques that prioritize process, collaboration, and creative independence.

Draw with Laura – all skill levels, all ages!
2026-03-08 14:00 - 16:00
Come join Laura for a fun day of drawing, no matter your skill level or age – creativity knows no bounds!
The 2nd Sundays of every month!

Class Dates:

Sunday, February 8
Sunday, March 8
Sunday, April 12
Sunday, June 14

Time: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
For: All Ages (Children must be accompanied by an adult. No drop-off allowed)
Fee:
Individual (adult) – $5
Parent and a child – $7
Parent and two children – $9
Parent and three children – $11
Or pay-what-you-can
Registration is required to participate: REGISTER TODAY!
12 participants max

Think you can’t draw? Struggling with a sketch? We gotchu covered.

This welcoming class of teens, adults, and children with parents is “pencil positive”—fun and appropriate for artmakers of all levels:

Beginner: Learn to see with “artist eyes” and use pencils and makers to make beautiful drawings you are proud of!
Intermediate: For students with some experience who want to go further…Bring your own photos or receive subjects and style lessons to explore in class. Watch your talent start to shine!
Advanced: Get critique and help with a new or existing drawing—enhance your skills in composition, perspective, lighting, figure drawing, and narrative. Take your artistry higher!

Laura provides 1:1 instruction in an empowering group setting. Come regularly to make quick improvements with your drawing skills and artistry AND find new friends.

About the facilitator:

A resident of West Harlem since 2015, Laura King has a BS degree in environmental science and an extensive background in artmaking and teaching. She loves New York’s urban culture and color, while she is equally passionate about finding and celebrating nature in the city. Laura is a volunteer gardener at the Hamilton Grange, a certified animal rescuer, and an artist who takes delight in illuminating the natural beauty that can be found EVERYWHERE in our urban jungle. Her drawings express her love for nature on many levels, and she aims wholeheartedly to spark that joy and appreciation in her students, too.

Space is limited: REGISTER TODAY!

Comics! with Micheline Hess - Part 1
2026-03-14 14:00 - 16:00
Are you ready to create comics? This fun, 2-part class is great for kids or adults who’d like to try making their own. Beginning with character creation, we’ll work together to craft a character while discussing things like anatomy, reference, style, drawing tools and turn-arounds. In the Second session, we’ll be taking the character we made together and exploring simple and fun ways to construct a story for it. We’ll also cover things like character voice, writing vs. what you can show with art, and story pacing.
DATES: Saturday, March 14 and Saturday, March 21
TIME: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
MAX PARTICIPANTS: 20
FOR: Children, Teens, Adults (Children must be accompanied by an adult; no drop-off allowed)
FEES: For 2 classes
Invididual – $10
Parent with Child – $14
Parent with Two Children – $18
or
Pay-what-you-can

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

About the Facilitator:

Micheline Hess
Born and raised in New York City, Micheline Hess started her professional comic book career in the early 90s with Milestone Comics as a colorist. There she worked on titles like ‘Static’ and ‘Icon’. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she has several creator-owned works, such as the fantasy-adventure comic series ‘Malice in Ovenland’, ‘The Anansi Kids and the All Saints’ Day Adventure’, and the sociopolitical horror tale ‘Diary of a Mad, Black, Werewolf’.
Her most recent work-The DMC 10th Anniversary Limited Edition short story – ‘This Land is Your Land’ made its debut at New York Comic Con 2024. You can learn more about Micheline and her projects at:
www.michmasharts.com
Insta: @michmasharts

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Easy! Watercolor - for Families with Kids
2026-03-15 15:00 - 16:30
Sunday, March 15, 3:00 to 4:15 pm – Families with Kids, 4:30 to 5:45 pm – Adults.
Every session is a little adventure, as facilitator Tomo Mori introduces a new project and fresh techniques to try. There’s always something fun and different to explore, and absolutely no need to stress about making a mess—CAC is all about creating and experimenting at your own pace. Painting, especially with watercolors, is a soothing experience—whether you love watching colors swirl and blend or simply enjoy the calming motion of your brush. Additionally, some new projects explore the art of paper weaving and dyeing.

The 3 pm class is perfect for children ages 4 to 12 (and their families), while the 4:30 pm session offers a slightly more challenging experience for those ready for a bit more. No matter which class you join, Tomo is happy to help anyone who wants to dive deeper into their art and get creative.
We’ll play with a variety of materials: watercolor ink, tube and acrylic paints, markers, pencils, Sumi ink, masking tape, stencils, salt, sponges, and even bubbles!
Come unwind in our painting workshop—a relaxed, creative space open to all ages!
March 15: Playing with textures. Get ready to dive into fun watercolor techniques that’ll add cool textures to your art! We will try 4-5 techniques to create textures using salts, hand sanitizer, bubble wrap, cardboard, combs, and other everyday items.
For: All ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. (Drop off not allowed)
Max Participants: 15
Fees:
Individual (adult) $5
Parent and One Child $7
Parent with Two Children $9
Parent with Three Children $11
Or, donate-what-you-can
60 mins class + 15 mins to clean up or catch up
Wear ready-to-make-art clothes, or bring old T-shirts/art aprons. Some aprons are available.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!

About the facilitator:
Tomo Mori, originally from Japan, is a West Harlem-based artist specializing in fiber art installations and collage. From ages 14 to 15, Tomo studied watercolor rigorously under a master watercolorist, preparing herself to enroll at Tokyo Metropolitan High School for Music and Fine Art, where she was accepted with a perfect score.
Although watercolor is not central to her current art practice, Tomo uses the medium to sketch ideas and maintain a visual journal. When she paints with watercolor, she experiences a sense of freedom and an uplifted spirit—perhaps because the works are only sketches or because the medium is easy to get started with and to clean up. Through these workshops, she aims to share the joy and therapeutic qualities of watercolor painting.
Tomo’s work has been exhibited at venues such as Columbia University, Scope Miami, The Laundromat Project, Rush Arts Galleries, Governors Island, Newark Museum, Christie’s, and Swann Auction Galleries. In 2018, she completed a laminated glass and metal installation commissioned by the MTA. She participated in the Winter Workspace Residency at Wave Hill in early 2023 and currently works as a studio artist at the Children’s Art Carnival.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
April 19: Sumi Ink painting. Sumi ink is a traditional black ink used in East Asian calligraphy and painting (sumi-e). Participants can do abstract images or objects, animals, portraits, landscapes, or mixtures of multiple elements, playing with the lightest gray to darkest black.
May 17: Coffee Filter Paper Dying (more info coming soon)
June 21: Father’s Day! Masking Tape Painting. We will use painter’s tape and acrylic paint to create a color-block painting on a canvas board or sheet

Easy! Watercolor - for Adults
2026-03-15 16:30 - 18:00
Sunday, March 15, 4:30 to 5:45 pm – Adults, 3:00 to 4:15 pm – Families with Kids
Every session is a little adventure, as facilitator Tomo Mori introduces a new project and fresh techniques to try. There’s always something fun and different to explore, and absolutely no need to stress about making a mess—CAC is all about creating and experimenting at your own pace. Painting, especially with watercolors, is a soothing experience—whether you love watching colors swirl and blend or simply enjoy the calming motion of your brush. Additionally, some new projects explore the art of paper weaving and dyeing.

The 3 pm class is perfect for children ages 4 to 12 (and their families), while the 4:30 pm session offers a slightly more challenging experience for those ready for a bit more. No matter which class you join, Tomo is happy to help anyone who wants to dive deeper into their art and get creative.
We’ll play with a variety of materials: watercolor ink, tube and acrylic paints, markers, pencils, Sumi ink, masking tape, stencils, salt, sponges, and even bubbles!
Come unwind in our painting workshop—a relaxed, creative space open to all ages!
March 15: Playing with textures. Get ready to dive into fun watercolor techniques that’ll add cool textures to your art! We will try 4-5 techniques to create textures using salts, hand sanitizer, bubble wrap, cardboard, combs, and other everyday items.
For: All ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. (Drop off not allowed)
Max Participants: 15
Fees:
Individual (adult) $5
Or, donate-what-you-can
60 mins class + 15 mins to clean up or catch up
Wear ready-to-make-art clothes, or bring old T-shirts/art aprons. Some aprons are available.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!

About the facilitator:
Tomo Mori, originally from Japan, is a West Harlem-based artist specializing in fiber art installations and collage. From ages 14 to 15, Tomo studied watercolor rigorously under a master watercolorist, preparing herself to enroll at Tokyo Metropolitan High School for Music and Fine Art, where she was accepted with a perfect score.
Although watercolor is not central to her current art practice, Tomo uses the medium to sketch ideas and maintain a visual journal. When she paints with watercolor, she experiences a sense of freedom and an uplifted spirit—perhaps because the works are only sketches or because the medium is easy to get started with and to clean up. Through these workshops, she aims to share the joy and therapeutic qualities of watercolor painting.
Tomo’s work has been exhibited at venues such as Columbia University, Scope Miami, The Laundromat Project, Rush Arts Galleries, Governors Island, Newark Museum, Christie’s, and Swann Auction Galleries. In 2018, she completed a laminated glass and metal installation commissioned by the MTA. She participated in the Winter Workspace Residency at Wave Hill in early 2023 and currently works as a studio artist at the Children’s Art Carnival.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
April 19: Sumi Ink painting. Sumi ink is a traditional black ink used in East Asian calligraphy and painting (sumi-e). Participants can do abstract images or objects, animals, portraits, landscapes, or mixtures of multiple elements, playing with the lightest gray to darkest black.
May 17: Coffee Filter Paper Dying (more info coming soon)
June 21: Father’s Day! Masking Tape Painting. We will use painter’s tape and acrylic paint to create a color-block painting on a canvas board or sheet

Family Photo by Hamilton Heights Darkroom
2026-03-21 12:00 - 14:00
March 21, 12 to 2 pm | Family Photo: Everybody has an old box of photos or negatives of their family members. Students bring in negatives of past and current family and make enlarged prints. Multiple copies can be gifted to others.
For: 18+
(The CAC postcards had an error, but this is for ages 18 and up. Not for children.)
Max Participants: 5

Online registration is required to participate: Register Now

Upcoming Workshops:

February 21 | Photograms for Parent & Child: This is a fun introduction to the darkroom class. Students place objects on photographic paper and expose them to light, then develop the paper in our darkroom. The unusual combinations are personal expressions that utilize the student’s intuition. (Register)
March 21 | Family Photo: Everybody has an old box of photos or negatives of their family members. Students bring in negatives of past and current family and make enlarged prints. Multiple copies can be gifted to others. (Register)
April 18 | Darkroom Open Printing: Students can print what they like. They can print photograms again or combine enlarged negatives with objects for unique photographs. Students who attend two or more of these workshops begin to see the potential of creating art in a traditional darkroom.
May 23 | Matting: Students provide their own work to be matted in preparation for framing and display. This class is suitable for attendance by students from multiple disciplines. A bevel edged window mat (supplied) is cut for each piece and students attach their work. Photos, drawings, collage and old newspaper articles can be matted. Students leave with pieces mounted and ready to frame.

About Facilitators: Michael Macioce & Lenore Browne

Michael Macioce is a founder and the instructor at the Hamilton Heights Darkroom. Practicing photography from his East Village studio since 1982, he is known for combining fine art and documentary photography of the downtown music and art scenes.
A graduate of The School of Visual Arts (1990) Michael’s teaching career began at Parsons School of Design in 1994. He has taught photography at The New School, The School of Visual Arts and The Educational Alliance before founding The Hamilton Heights Darkroom.
He has exhibited at many galleries in the US and Japan, has had work shown in the Jewish Museum of Paris and was a featured photographer at the New York Photo Festival 2010 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, where he lectured an “Photographing Unseen New York.”
You can see his work at his website macioce.org and his instagram @maciocephotography
Lenore Browne started using a film camera after graduating high school. Although she later received business-related degrees, her passion lies with film photography and printing in a traditional darkroom. In her first attempt to display her photographs, Browne’s “Life Lines” was selected in a juried competition for exhibition at the Pen and Brush Gallery, in Greenwich Village, by Daile Kaplan, Vice President and Director of Photographs of the Swann Galleries, May 2009. Thereafter, she began documenting Harlem as it evolves through its Second Renaissance. Browne’s Harlem photographs have exhibited at Hamilton Landmark Galleries, Symphony Space, Harlem Hospital, Columbia University Barrie Russ, Harlem Fine Arts Show and the New York Public Library.
Browne is a founder and Board Member (President) of the Hamilton Heights Darkroom whose nonprofit mission is to provide photography and darkroom printing experience to youth and adults in the Harlem Community.

About Hamilton Heights Darkroom:
Located in the historic Hamilton Heights neighborhood within Harlem, Hamilton Heights Darkroom (HHD) is dedicated to the preservation of traditional darkroom printing and film photography. Students use film cameras, and print from negatives in the darkroom as a basis to learn photography. HHD offers photography basics and darkroom printing for youth, teens and adult printers, from beginner level to advanced.
As darkrooms, photography and public school arts programs disappear, HHD strives to preserve both culture and photography in the Harlem community. HHD offers group printing classes, photography classes (film and digital) and discussion about current photography issues in a collegial setting. HHD collaborates with local community arts and culture organizations seeking youth and adults interested in photography.

Comics! with Micheline Hess - Part 2
2026-03-21 14:00 - 16:00
Are you ready to create comics? This fun, 2-part class is great for kids or adults who’d like to try making their own. Beginning with character creation, we’ll work together to craft a character while discussing things like anatomy, reference, style, drawing tools and turn-arounds. In the Second session, we’ll be taking the character we made together and exploring simple and fun ways to construct a story for it. We’ll also cover things like character voice, writing vs. what you can show with art, and story pacing.
DATES: Saturday, March 14 (ended) and Saturday, March 21 (You can join only part 2 class even if you missed the first one)
TIME: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
MAX PARTICIPANTS: 20
FOR: Children, Teens, Adults (Children must be accompanied by an adult; no drop-off allowed)
FEES: For part 2 class only
Individual – $5
Parent with Child – $7
Parent with Two Children – $9
or
Pay-what-you-can

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

About the Facilitator:

Micheline Hess
Born and raised in New York City, Micheline Hess started her professional comic book career in the early 90s with Milestone Comics as a colorist. There she worked on titles like ‘Static’ and ‘Icon’. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she has several creator-owned works, such as the fantasy-adventure comic series ‘Malice in Ovenland’, ‘The Anansi Kids and the All Saints’ Day Adventure’, and the sociopolitical horror tale ‘Diary of a Mad, Black, Werewolf’.
Her most recent work-The DMC 10th Anniversary Limited Edition short story – ‘This Land is Your Land’ made its debut at New York Comic Con 2024. You can learn more about Micheline and her projects at:
www.michmasharts.com
Insta: @michmasharts

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Collage/Mixed Media for Families
2026-03-28 13:00 - 15:00
Calling all Harlem families!
Come on out and join artist Elan Cadiz for her fun mixed-media classes designed for the whole family. We will build, cut, rip, draw, paste and more. Join us every 4th Saturday of each month. Each class will highlight a topic, and participants will leave with a one-of-a-kind collage.
Saturday, March 28
Theme: Harlem Woman Artist Highlight
Join us this Women’s History Month to celebrate the artworks of Harlem artist Loïs Marilou Jones by making a collage inspired by her prolific body of work.

Time: 1 to 3 pm
For: Families with children, but adults are welcome as well. Children must be accompanied by an adult. No drop-off allowed.
Fee:
Individual (adult) $5
Parent and One Child $7
Parent with Two Children $9
Parent with Three Children $11
(Or, donate-what-you-can)
Max participants: 18

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, April 25
Theme: Earth Day Assemblages
In this specialized collage workshop participants will examine and re-imagine found object materials into sculptural structures.
Saturday, May 23
Theme: Rainy Day Collages
April showers bring May flowers. In this specialized collage workshop, we will create playful layered watercolor collages.
Saturday, June 27
Theme: JUNETEENTH Quilt Project
In the celebration of Juneteenth, this specialized collage workshop will highlight the use of visual arts to tell stories. Each participant will construct a panel of our community quilt, illustrating a story of freedom through the use of fabric, markers and paint.

About Facilitator: Elan Cadiz
Art Education is an important part of Elan’s artistic practice. She has instructed young people in the arts for 25 years and taught for or was in collaboration with programs/institutions such as the Police Athletic League (P.A.L), Astoria Beacon Program, Young Adult Institute (Y.A.I), Casa Duarte, P.S. /I.S. 180, Say Yes To Education (affiliated with Columbia’s Teachers College), Harlem School of the Arts, Thurgood Marshall Upper and Lower Academies, Harlem Gems (Harlem Children Zone), No Longer Empty, Cool Culture, Bank Street College, Weeksville Heritage Center, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Historical Society, Center for Arts Education, Community Works NYC, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Boys Club of New York City, Foster Pride, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, BridgeHampton Museum, Harlem NeedleArts, the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling and more.

Space is limited: Get your ticket today!

Kindness Rooted - Art Workshop by Aleathia Brown
2026-03-28 18:00 - 21:00
Saturday, March 28, 2026, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
The Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York NY 10031
Participants will paint on burlap. Inspired by Aleathia’s one Woman Show “Beyond Werdz” an exhibition with works on burlap at The City University of New York: Aaron Davis Hall Performing Arts Center March 17 – June 30, 2026.
A Selection of ancient symbols of Kindness will be shared. Conversation and some will share stories of acts of kindness during the workshop. Participants will paint on the textured fabric, each will unravel the base of they’re Artpiece leaving a tassel like base. Methodically unraveling is relaxing and meditative.
Leave with a reminder to display on Your wall Your symbol Kindness, which has benefits lowering anxiety, blood pressure and inspires You to act with kindness having experienced others towards You.
Colors and symbols, tell a story, the spirit of Kindness in a time worth being gently reminded reminds us to stay connected to our highest frequencies when life tests us.
This Art Workshop includes an act of kindness
Support by sponsoring a ticket or 2 for someone wanting to attend not able to pay. Community is vital in sharing on many levels
Light Refreshments
Playlist by DJ Masai
Master Teaching Artist
Aleathia Brown of
Aleathia’s Original Artworks
guides each Adult Participant on Your creative journey
Join us at the table. A safe, creative, enjoyable session tapping into Your inner Art Super Power at whatever level that You are at.
Saturday March 28, 2026
Tickets $48.50
Aleathia Brown
aleathiab.art@gmail.com
Payment Link
https://square.link/u/Sc5CJX4g

Aleathia Brown

Instagram: @aleathias_original_artworks

Blueprint & Brush: Mixed Media Cyanotypes - CAC PRESS & PULL
2026-04-04 13:00 - 15:00
Blueprint & Brush: Mixed Media Cyanotypes – CAC PRESS & PULL

Date: Saturday, April 4th
Time: 1:00 – 3:00pm
Venue: The Children’s Art Carnival, 62 Hamilton Terrace, New York, NY 10031
For: Adults and Children Ages 12 and Up
Max Participants: 8
Reserve your spot now!
Cyanotype printing is a 150-year-old photographic process that produces rich Prussian blue prints from photographs, drawings, and found imagery.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will create cyanotype prints on paper and then develop them further with watercolor layering. Led by multimedia artist and Harlem native Dionis Ortiz, the class welcomes artists of all levels and offers a guided introduction to this mixed-media process. Participants will leave with their own artworks on paper and new skills to continue exploring on their own.

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Dionis Ortiz
About the facilitator: Dionis Ortiz

Dionis Ortiz is a multimedia artist, community art producer, and educator who works in printmaking, collage, and sculpture. Drawing from his experiences as a child born and raised in Harlem of Dominican descent, he creates geometric, process-based works from ill-regarded and found materials to celebrate the people of the African diaspora.
He was a participant in the Artist in the Marketplace (AIM) Program at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, received a Rema Hort Mann Artist Community Engagement Grant, and has been an Artist in Residence at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. He has produced several solo exhibitions in New York and his work was recently included in Estamos bien: La Trienal 20/21 at El Museo Del Barrio (New York).
Community engagement is central to his practice and he has produced projects for Harlem River Park Fund, Museum of Art and Design, and ImageNation.
In 2021 he was Artist in Residence at Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling and his mural design was selected by PubliColor for an elementary school in East Harlem. His work has been featured in The New York Times several times and is included in Latinx Art: Artists, Market, and Politics by Arlene Dávila.
This community work extends to teaching and Ortiz teaches all ages from pre-K to teenagers and undergraduates at Hunter College and Cornell University.
He received his B.F.A from SUNY Purchase College and his M.F.A from CUNY Hunter College.

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!
CAC PRESS & PULL is a community-based printshop at The Children’s Art Carnival (CAC) in West Harlem, grounded in equity, access, and experimentation. Inspired by the legacy of Robert Blackburn and Betty Blayton-Taylor, the program emphasizes non-traditional and accessible printmaking techniques that prioritize process, collaboration, and creative independence.

Comics! with Micheline Hess - Part 1
2026-04-11 14:00 - 16:00
Are you ready to create comics? This fun, 2-part class is great for kids or adults who’d like to try making their own. Beginning with character creation, we’ll work together to craft a character while discussing things like anatomy, reference, style, drawing tools and turn-arounds. In the Second session, we’ll be taking the character we made together and exploring simple and fun ways to construct a story for it. We’ll also cover things like character voice, writing vs. what you can show with art, and story pacing.
DATES: Saturday, April 11 and Saturday, April 18
TIME: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
MAX PARTICIPANTS: 20
FOR: Children, Teens, Adults (Children must be accompanied by an adult; no drop-off allowed)
FEES: Pay-what-you-can

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

About the Facilitator:

Micheline Hess
Born and raised in New York City, Micheline Hess started her professional comic book career in the early 90s with Milestone Comics as a colorist. There she worked on titles like ‘Static’ and ‘Icon’. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she has several creator-owned works, such as the fantasy-adventure comic series ‘Malice in Ovenland’, ‘The Anansi Kids and the All Saints’ Day Adventure’, and the sociopolitical horror tale ‘Diary of a Mad, Black, Werewolf’.
Her most recent work-The DMC 10th Anniversary Limited Edition short story – ‘This Land is Your Land’ made its debut at New York Comic Con 2024. You can learn more about Micheline and her projects at:
www.michmasharts.com
Insta: @michmasharts

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Draw with Laura – all skill levels, all ages!
2026-04-12 14:00 - 16:00
Come join Laura for a fun day of drawing, no matter your skill level or age – creativity knows no bounds!
The 2nd Sundays of every month!

Class Dates:

Sunday, February 8
Sunday, March 8
Sunday, April 12
Sunday, May 10
Sunday, June 14

Time: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
For: All Ages (Children must be accompanied by an adult. No drop-off allowed)
Fee:
Individual (adult) – $5
Parent and a child – $7
Parent and two children – $9
Parent and three children – $11
Or pay-what-you-can
Registration is required to participate: REGISTER TODAY!
12 participants max

Think you can’t draw? Struggling with a sketch? We gotchu covered.

This welcoming class of teens, adults, and children with parents is “pencil positive”—fun and appropriate for artmakers of all levels:

Beginner: Learn to see with “artist eyes” and use pencils and makers to make beautiful drawings you are proud of!
Intermediate: For students with some experience who want to go further…Bring your own photos or receive subjects and style lessons to explore in class. Watch your talent start to shine!
Advanced: Get critique and help with a new or existing drawing—enhance your skills in composition, perspective, lighting, figure drawing, and narrative. Take your artistry higher!

Laura provides 1:1 instruction in an empowering group setting. Come regularly to make quick improvements with your drawing skills and artistry AND find new friends.

About the facilitator:

A resident of West Harlem since 2015, Laura King has a BS degree in environmental science and an extensive background in artmaking and teaching. She loves New York’s urban culture and color, while she is equally passionate about finding and celebrating nature in the city. Laura is a volunteer gardener at the Hamilton Grange, a certified animal rescuer, and an artist who takes delight in illuminating the natural beauty that can be found EVERYWHERE in our urban jungle. Her drawings express her love for nature on many levels, and she aims wholeheartedly to spark that joy and appreciation in her students, too.

Space is limited: REGISTER TODAY!

Darkroom Open Printing
2026-04-18 12:00 - 14:00
April 18 | Darkroom Open Printing: Students can print what they like. They can print photograms again or combine enlarged negatives with objects for unique photographs. Students who attend two or more of these workshops begin to see the potential of creating art in a traditional darkroom. (Register)
For: 18+
Max Participants: 5

Online registration is required to participate: Register Now

Upcoming Workshops:

February 21 | Photograms for Parent & Child: This is a fun introduction to the darkroom class. Students place objects on photographic paper and expose them to light, then develop the paper in our darkroom. The unusual combinations are personal expressions that utilize the student’s intuition.
March 21 | Family Photo: Everybody has an old box of photos or negatives of their family members. Students bring in negatives of past and current family and make enlarged prints. Multiple copies can be gifted to others.
April 18 | Darkroom Open Printing: Students can print what they like. They can print photograms again or combine enlarged negatives with objects for unique photographs. Students who attend two or more of these workshops begin to see the potential of creating art in a traditional darkroom. (Register)
May 23 | Matting: Students provide their own work to be matted in preparation for framing and display. This class is suitable for attendance by students from multiple disciplines. A bevel edged window mat (supplied) is cut for each piece and students attach their work. Photos, drawings, collage and old newspaper articles can be matted. Students leave with pieces mounted and ready to frame. (Register)

About Facilitators: Michael Macioce & Lenore Browne

Michael Macioce is a founder and the instructor at the Hamilton Heights Darkroom. Practicing photography from his East Village studio since 1982, he is known for combining fine art and documentary photography of the downtown music and art scenes.
A graduate of The School of Visual Arts (1990) Michael’s teaching career began at Parsons School of Design in 1994. He has taught photography at The New School, The School of Visual Arts and The Educational Alliance before founding The Hamilton Heights Darkroom.
He has exhibited at many galleries in the US and Japan, has had work shown in the Jewish Museum of Paris and was a featured photographer at the New York Photo Festival 2010 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, where he lectured an “Photographing Unseen New York.”
You can see his work at his website macioce.org and his instagram @maciocephotography
Lenore Browne started using a film camera after graduating high school. Although she later received business-related degrees, her passion lies with film photography and printing in a traditional darkroom. In her first attempt to display her photographs, Browne’s “Life Lines” was selected in a juried competition for exhibition at the Pen and Brush Gallery, in Greenwich Village, by Daile Kaplan, Vice President and Director of Photographs of the Swann Galleries, May 2009. Thereafter, she began documenting Harlem as it evolves through its Second Renaissance. Browne’s Harlem photographs have exhibited at Hamilton Landmark Galleries, Symphony Space, Harlem Hospital, Columbia University Barrie Russ, Harlem Fine Arts Show and the New York Public Library.
Browne is a founder and Board Member (President) of the Hamilton Heights Darkroom whose nonprofit mission is to provide photography and darkroom printing experience to youth and adults in the Harlem Community.

About Hamilton Heights Darkroom:
Located in the historic Hamilton Heights neighborhood within Harlem, Hamilton Heights Darkroom (HHD) is dedicated to the preservation of traditional darkroom printing and film photography. Students use film cameras, and print from negatives in the darkroom as a basis to learn photography. HHD offers photography basics and darkroom printing for youth, teens and adult printers, from beginner level to advanced.
As darkrooms, photography and public school arts programs disappear, HHD strives to preserve both culture and photography in the Harlem community. HHD offers group printing classes, photography classes (film and digital) and discussion about current photography issues in a collegial setting. HHD collaborates with local community arts and culture organizations seeking youth and adults interested in photography.

Online registration is required to participate: Register Now

Comics! with Micheline Hess - Part 2
2026-04-18 14:00 - 16:00
Are you ready to create comics? This fun, 2-part class is great for kids or adults who’d like to try making their own. Beginning with character creation, we’ll work together to craft a character while discussing things like anatomy, reference, style, drawing tools and turn-arounds. In the Second session, we’ll be taking the character we made together and exploring simple and fun ways to construct a story for it. We’ll also cover things like character voice, writing vs. what you can show with art, and story pacing.
DATES: Saturday, April 11 (ended) and Saturday, April 18 (You can join the 2nd class even if you missed the first one)
TIME: 2:00 to 4:00 pm
MAX PARTICIPANTS: 20
FOR: Children, Teens, Adults (Children must be accompanied by an adult; no drop-off allowed)
FEES: Pay-what-you-can

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

About the Facilitator:

Micheline Hess
Born and raised in New York City, Micheline Hess started her professional comic book career in the early 90s with Milestone Comics as a colorist. There she worked on titles like ‘Static’ and ‘Icon’. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she has several creator-owned works, such as the fantasy-adventure comic series ‘Malice in Ovenland’, ‘The Anansi Kids and the All Saints’ Day Adventure’, and the sociopolitical horror tale ‘Diary of a Mad, Black, Werewolf’.
Her most recent work-The DMC 10th Anniversary Limited Edition short story – ‘This Land is Your Land’ made its debut at New York Comic Con 2024. You can learn more about Micheline and her projects at:
www.michmasharts.com
Insta: @michmasharts

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

Easy! Watercolor: SUMIE - for Families with Kids
2026-04-19 15:00 - 16:30
Sunday, April 19, 3:00 to 4:15 pm – Families with Kids, 4:30 to 5:45 pm – Adults.
Every session is a little adventure, as facilitator Tomo Mori introduces a new project and fresh techniques to try. There’s always something fun and different to explore, and absolutely no need to stress about making a mess—CAC is all about creating and experimenting at your own pace. Painting, especially with watercolors, is a soothing experience—whether you love watching colors swirl and blend or simply enjoy the calming motion of your brush. Additionally, some new projects explore the art of paper weaving and dyeing.

The 3 pm class is perfect for children ages 4 to 12 (and their families), while the 4:30 pm session offers a slightly more challenging experience for those ready for a bit more. No matter which class you join, Tomo is happy to help anyone who wants to dive deeper into their art and get creative.
We’ll play with a variety of materials: watercolor ink, tube and acrylic paints, markers, pencils, Sumi ink, masking tape, stencils, salt, sponges, and even bubbles!
Come unwind in our painting workshop—a relaxed, creative space open to all ages!
For: All ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. (Drop off not allowed)
Max Participants: 15
April 19: Sumi Ink painting. Sumi ink is a traditional black ink used in East Asian calligraphy and painting (sumi-e). Participants can do abstract images or objects, animals, portraits, landscapes, or mixtures of multiple elements, playing with the lightest gray to darkest black.
Fees:
Individual (adult) $5
Parent and One Child $7
Parent with Two Children $9
Parent with Three Children $11
Or, donate-what-you-can
60 mins class + 15 mins to clean up or catch up
Wear ready-to-make-art clothes, or bring old T-shirts/art aprons. Some aprons are available.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!

About the facilitator:
Tomo Mori, originally from Japan, is a West Harlem-based artist specializing in fiber art installations and collage. From ages 14 to 15, Tomo studied watercolor rigorously under a master watercolorist, preparing herself to enroll at Tokyo Metropolitan High School for Music and Fine Art, where she was accepted with a perfect score.
Although watercolor is not central to her current art practice, Tomo uses the medium to sketch ideas and maintain a visual journal. When she paints with watercolor, she experiences a sense of freedom and an uplifted spirit—perhaps because the works are only sketches or because the medium is easy to get started with and to clean up. Through these workshops, she aims to share the joy and therapeutic qualities of watercolor painting.
Tomo’s work has been exhibited at venues such as Columbia University, Scope Miami, The Laundromat Project, Rush Arts Galleries, Governors Island, Newark Museum, Christie’s, and Swann Auction Galleries. In 2018, she completed a laminated glass and metal installation commissioned by the MTA. She participated in the Winter Workspace Residency at Wave Hill in early 2023 and currently works as a studio artist at the Children’s Art Carnival.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
April 19: Sumi Ink painting. Sumi ink is a traditional black ink used in East Asian calligraphy and painting (sumi-e). Participants can do abstract images or objects, animals, portraits, landscapes, or mixtures of multiple elements, playing with the lightest gray to darkest black.
May 17: Coffee Filter Paper Dying (more info coming soon)
June 21: Father’s Day! Masking Tape Painting. We will use painter’s tape and acrylic paint to create a color-block painting on a canvas board or sheet

Easy! Watercolor: SUMIE - for Adults
2026-04-19 16:30 - 18:00
Sunday, April 19, 4:30 to 5:45 pm – Adults

April 19: Sumi Ink painting. Sumi ink is a traditional black ink used in East Asian calligraphy and painting (sumi-e). Participants can do abstract images or objects, animals, portraits, landscapes, or mixtures of multiple elements, playing with the lightest gray to darkest black. Bring some B/W photocopies if you would like to work on particular images.
For: All ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult. (Drop off not allowed)
Max Participants: 15
Fees:
Individual (adult) $5
Or, donate-what-you-can
60 mins class + 15 mins to clean up or catch up
Wear ready-to-make-art clothes, or bring old T-shirts/art aprons. Some aprons are available.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!
Tomo Mori will demonstrate how to incorporate the drawing gum masking technique as an addition to Sumi-e painting for the adult session.
About Easy! Watercolor Workshop Series – 3rd Sunday of every month

Every session is a little adventure, as facilitator Tomo Mori introduces a new project and fresh techniques to try. There’s always something fun and different to explore, and absolutely no need to stress about making a mess—CAC is all about creating and experimenting at your own pace. Painting, especially with watercolors, is a soothing experience—whether you love watching colors swirl and blend or simply enjoy the calming motion of your brush. Additionally, some new projects explore the art of paper weaving and dyeing.

The 3 pm class is perfect for children ages 4 to 12 (and their families), while the 4:30 pm session offers a slightly more challenging experience for those ready for a bit more. No matter which class you join, Tomo is happy to help anyone who wants to dive deeper into their art and get creative.

About the facilitator:
Tomo Mori, originally from Japan, is a West Harlem-based artist specializing in fiber art installations and collage. From ages 14 to 15, Tomo studied watercolor rigorously under a master watercolorist, preparing herself to enroll at Tokyo Metropolitan High School for Music and Fine Art, where she was accepted with a perfect score.
Although watercolor is not central to her current art practice, Tomo uses the medium to sketch ideas and maintain a visual journal. When she paints with watercolor, she experiences a sense of freedom and an uplifted spirit—perhaps because the works are only sketches or because the medium is easy to get started with and to clean up. Through these workshops, she aims to share the joy and therapeutic qualities of watercolor painting.
Tomo’s work has been exhibited at venues such as Columbia University, Scope Miami, The Laundromat Project, Rush Arts Galleries, Governors Island, Newark Museum, Christie’s, and Swann Auction Galleries. In 2018, she completed a laminated glass and metal installation commissioned by the MTA. She participated in the Winter Workspace Residency at Wave Hill in early 2023 and currently works as a studio artist at the Children’s Art Carnival.

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today!
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
April 19: Sumi Ink painting. Sumi ink is a traditional black ink used in East Asian calligraphy and painting (sumi-e). Participants can do abstract images or objects, animals, portraits, landscapes, or mixtures of multiple elements, playing with the lightest gray to darkest black.
May 17: Coffee Filter Paper Dying (more info coming soon)
June 21: Father’s Day! Masking Tape Painting. We will use painter’s tape and acrylic paint to create a color-block painting on a canvas board or sheet

Opening Reception: Naming the Wound & Breaking the Spell
2026-04-24 18:30 - 20:00
Naming the Wound & Breaking the Spell: Seeing, Telling the Truth, and Dismantling What Harms
Presented by: West Harlem Arts Exhibition 2026, a collaboration of the Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano and Children’s Art Carnival (CAC), in participation with Women Healing and Empowering Women’s (WHEW) Beah Ripple Movement
Exhibition Dates: April 17 – May 11, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, April 24, 2026 6:30 – 9:00pm (RSVP)
Symposium: Saturday, April 25, 2026 12:00 – 6:00pm (RSVP)

Naming the Wound & Breaking the Spell is an exhibition that respond to the layered truths, contradictions, and acts of self-definition articulated in the poem A Black Woman Speaks by Beah Richards Centering themes of truth-telling, embodied memory, racial reckoning, and collective repair, the exhibition foregrounds voice as resistance, storytelling as survival, and truth as something lived, claimed, and continually re-imagined. A community of artists are invited to engage through bold, intimate, and expansive visual responses that honor complexity, memory, and becoming. The Exhibition will showcase artists from the Kevin Taylor Collection of works and the Armand-Paul Family Collection to include works from artists Carlos Martiel, Renée Cox and many more.
With performances by El Enjambre Folclórico, a New York City-based musical band that promotes Dominican culture through traditional music, dance, and oral storytelling.

Opening Reception:
Friday, April 24, 2026 6:30 – 9:00pm
(Guests to dress in white on this day and bring flowers as an offering)
It will start with an offering to the ancestors, orishas and santos and include a street procession with music from the Hudson River to Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano ending at the Children’s Art Carnival. Featured Performance by poet Anacaona Rocio Milagro.

Artists: Jenna Arvelo, Milagros Batista, Chris Cortez, Renee Cox, Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper, Elmer Guevara, Eli Kaufman, Dillon Gardine, Zarina Khan, Carlos Martiel, Yoo Yeon Nam, Dionis Ortiz, Madelyn Rivera, Anya Paintsil. Marco Saavedra, Patrice Solomon, Starkim, Araceli Zuniga
Procession & Opening Reception Schedule
● 6:00 PM – Guest check-in and map pickup at Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano (619 W 145th St, between Broadway & Riverside)
● 6:30 PM – Hudson River procession begins, led by El Enjambre Folclórico
● 7:00 PM – Brief stop at Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano
● 7:10 PM – Procession resumes: along 145th St → Convent Ave → 144th St → enters Hamilton Terrace
● 7:45 PM – Procession concludes at CAC
● 8:00 PM – Welcome and opening remarks
● 8:15 PM – Featured performance by Anacaona Rocío Milagro
● 9:00 PM – Reception concludes

Symposium Program: Naming the Wound & Breaking the Spell
2026-04-25 12:00 - 18:00
Symposium Program:
Saturday, April 25, 2026 12:00 – 6:00pm
(Guests to dress in white on this day)
The April 25 symposium will feature a keynote address by Busi Peters-Maughn, Founder of Women Healing and Empowering Women (WHEW). The program will also include conversations with community organizations La Morada, a mutual-aid kitchen and Oaxacan restaurant in the South Bronx, New York City, and Patrice Solomon-Ortiz, Founder and CEO of SASS HARLEM INC. (Sistahs About Something Serious).
The symposium will celebrate a dynamic group of artists and makers whose work is rooted in social justice, healing, and restorative practices, including: Milagros Batista, master knitter and founder of Batista Collections; Dillon Gardner; Wilhelmina Grant Cooper; Dionis Ortiz; Madeline Rivera; and activist artist Marcos Saavedra.
● 12:00 – 12:30 – Opening Libation + Refreshments
● 12:30 – 1:45 – Keynote Presentation (Interactive)
● 1:45 – 2:00 – Break/Transition
● 2:00 – 2:30 – Soul Work Talk (Milagros Batista & Madeline Rivera)
● 2:30 – 3:30 – Workshop (Soap Making/Knitting/Live Painting)
● 3:30 -3:45 – Break/Transition/Refreshments
● 3:45 – 5:00 – Artist and Wellness Presentations (Patrice Solomon/Wilhemina Grant)
● 5:00 – 5:30 – La Morada: Social Entrepreneurship Conversation
● 5:30 – 6:00 – Music – El Enjambre Folclórico
● 6:00 – Until – Food Catered by La Morada
Naming the Wound & Breaking the Spell is an exhibition that respond to the layered truths, contradictions, and acts of self-definition articulated in the poem A Black Woman Speaks by Beah Richards Centering themes of truth-telling, embodied memory, racial reckoning, and collective repair, the exhibition foregrounds voice as resistance, storytelling as survival, and truth as something lived, claimed, and continually re-imagined. A community of artists are invited to engage through bold, intimate, and expansive visual responses that honor complexity, memory, and becoming. The Exhibition will showcase artists from the Kevin Taylor Collection of works and the Armand-Paul Family Collection to include works from artists Carlos Martiel, Renée Cox and many more.
Naming the Wound & Breaking the Spell:
Seeing, Telling the Truth, and Dismantling What Harms
Presented by:West Harlem Arts Exhibition 2026, a collaboration of the Centro Cívico Cultural Dominicano and Children’s Art Carnival (CAC), in participation with Women Healing and Empowering Women’s (WHEW) Beah Ripple Movement
Exhibition Dates: April 17 – May 11, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, April 24, 2026 6:30 – 9:00pm (Learn more & RSVP)
Symposium: Saturday, April 25, 2026 12:00 – 6:00pm
Artists: Jenna Arvelo, Milagros Batista, Chris Cortez, Renee Cox, Wilhelmina Grant-Cooper, Elmer Guevara, Eli Kaufman, Dillon Gardine, Zarina Khan, Carlos Martiel, Yoo Yeon Nam, Dionis Ortiz, Madelyn Rivera, Anya Paintsil. Marco Saavedra, Patrice Solomon, Starkim, Araceli Zuniga

Wordz N' Colors with Aleathia Brown
2026-04-25 18:00 - 21:00
Wordz N’ Colors
Aleathia Brown Master Teaching Artist,
Visual and PoeticStorytelling Artist will workshop together the writings of Poetic Thinkers into the Art. Call it painted collage works that visually are inspired by poetic stories. In this session the Group of Adult Participants will engage their own words and thoughts, some may write a verse or 2, name the artwork each are creating can be profoundly poetic. This is National Poetry Month so channeling the energy verbally and visually lifts the creative pathways.

If feeling the vibe and flow some may recite a few lines for the fun of it! Stay focused it’s a fun family like energy that I keep in safe beautiful space for Grown Ups to enjoy.

Fun and stretching Your mind is Adult Wellness. Non-Artists and Creative’s welcomed at the table. Playlist by DJ Masai inspires the participants to open up and share with less trepidation.

Community near and far Your sponsoring a ticket or 2 for this session allows Me to gift a seat at the table for someone unable to pay wanting and needing the experience as a beautiful escape.

Light Refreshments
Playlist by DJ Masai
Master Teaching Artist Guidance by
Aleathia Brown of
Aleathia’s Original Artworks
aleathiab.art@gmail.com

Payment Link

Wordz N’ Colors workshop
https://square.link/u/Sc5CJX4g

Art Workshop
Wordz N’ Colors
Saturday, April 25, 2026
6-9pm
Children’s Art Carnival
62 Hamilton Terrace
Harlem NY, 10031

Aleathia Brown

Instagram: @aleathias_original_artworks

Earth Day! Collage/Mixed Media for Families
2026-04-26 13:00 - 15:00
Calling all Harlem families!
Come on out and join artist Elan Cadiz for her fun mixed-media classes designed for the whole family. We will build, cut, rip, draw, paste and more. Join us every 4th Saturday of each month. Each class will highlight a topic, and participants will leave with a one-of-a-kind collage.
Sunday, April 26 (rescheduled)
Earth Day Assemblages
In this specialized collage workshop, participants will examine and reimagine found-object materials into sculptural structures.

Time: 1 to 3 pm
For: Families with children, but adults are welcome as well. Children must be accompanied by an adult. No drop-off allowed.
Fee: Pay-What-You-Can
Max participants: 18

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot now!

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, April 25
Theme: Earth Day Assemblages
In this specialized collage workshop participants will examine and re-imagine found object materials into sculptural structures.
Saturday, May 23
Theme: Rainy Day Collages
April showers bring May flowers. In this specialized collage workshop, we will create playful layered watercolor collages.
Saturday, June 27
Theme: JUNETEENTH Quilt Project
In the celebration of Juneteenth, this specialized collage workshop will highlight the use of visual arts to tell stories. Each participant will construct a panel of our community quilt, illustrating a story of freedom through the use of fabric, markers and paint.

About Facilitator: Elan Cadiz
Art Education is an important part of Elan’s artistic practice. She has instructed young people in the arts for 25 years and taught for or was in collaboration with programs/institutions such as the Police Athletic League (P.A.L), Astoria Beacon Program, Young Adult Institute (Y.A.I), Casa Duarte, P.S. /I.S. 180, Say Yes To Education (affiliated with Columbia’s Teachers College), Harlem School of the Arts, Thurgood Marshall Upper and Lower Academies, Harlem Gems (Harlem Children Zone), No Longer Empty, Cool Culture, Bank Street College, Weeksville Heritage Center, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Historical Society, Center for Arts Education, Community Works NYC, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Boys Club of New York City, Foster Pride, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, BridgeHampton Museum, Harlem NeedleArts, the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling and more.

Space is limited: Get your ticket today!

WEUSI Workshop: The Art of Making Money with Deborah Singletary
2026-04-29 18:00 - 20:00
WEUSI Workshop: The Art of Making Money with Deborah Singletary
Wednesday, April 29
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Don’t miss this special WEUSI Artist Collective workshop!

FOR: ADULTS
FEE: $10 or Pay-what-you-can
Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot
Making Money is more than a matter of earnings, it’s about your habits and thoughts. These envelopes are designed to bring ease with money matters and practices that encourage thoughtfulness and ritual when dealing with finances.
All good habits must be practiced! Come on out and start healing your connection to money with WEUSI Artist and Educator Deborah Singletary.
*It works! This is the first time I’ve been able to do
something like this consistently for a year.” – Charlene C.

About the facilitators:

Deborah Singletary
Harlem artist Deborah Singletary facilitates symbolic arts workshops that invite relaxation, insight, healing, and joy. She understands artmaking as a transformative process—one that changes not only the materials in our hands, but also our inner lives. Through image, symbol, and creative play, her workshops open space for reflection, renewal, and discovery.
She has given symbolic arts workshops for The Wellness Center at Riverside Church, Mama Foundation for the Arts, the YWCA, and St. Joseph’s University Council for the Arts to name a few…

Registration is required to participate: Reserve your spot

Silkscreening Workshop | CAC PRESS & PULL
2026-05-02 13:00 - 16:00
Join artist Harmarkhis McCannon for a hands-on introduction to silkscreen printing. Participants will create their own design, learn an accessible stencil-based process, and print their image by hand. Open to beginners, this workshop invites participants to explore a creative approach to printmaking. Participants will leave with their own printed image.
Facilitated by: Harmarkhis McCannon
Class Date: Saturday, May 2
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Venue: The Children’s Art Carnival
Max. Participants: 8
For: Teens to young adults
General: $10
Donation: Pay What You Wish

Registration is required to participate: Save your spot today

About the facilitator:
Harmarkhis McCannon is an artist/graphic designer based in New York City. As a child he honed his artistic talents at the Children’s Art Carnival and the Harlem School of the arts. Later he continued his training at LaGuardia H.S. of the Performing Arts and at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He works as a freelance artist in New York City and also runs his own design company.
