CREATIVE ARTS CENTER HOLDS 3 IN-PERSON OUTREACH PROGRAMS THIS SUMMER

DALLAS, TX – June 29, 2021 – The Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC) will offer three in-person outreach programs serving underserved teens and seniors this summer:

Camp MetalHead, Run with the Pack and Memories and Mosaic.

Sparks will fly during Camp MetalHead as teens learn free pertinent job skills and quality arts instruction in welding and jewelry. The program will be held on-site serving 16 teens, ages 13-17 on Fridays through August 6 from 10am to 3pm. Now in its 12th year, the free six-week camp includes welding instruction through metal art and jewelry classes, utilizing skills such as shop safety, while using tools like oxyacetylene torches, arc welders, pneumatic hammers, jewelry torches, grinders, sandblasters, polishers and other tools. This camp is geared toward underserved and at-risk teens as an opportunity to learn impressive job skills through fun, artistic expression. A scholarship will be awarded to one teen in each of the two camps on the last day for further study at CAC. Camp MetalHead is funded by the Texas Commission on the Arts and Big Thought.

Run with the Pack is a collaboration with the City of Dallas/Office of Arts and Culture and the Friends of the Bath House to work with underserved teens who will create murals for the Bath House Cultural Center and the Oak Cliff Cultural Center. The Bath House mural will be a painted mural and is led by set designer David Walsh. The Oak Cliff mural will be done with spray paints and is led by long-time Deep Ellum muralist Greg “Ozone” Contestabile. Both groups will be taking tours of Deep Ellum murals. The Bath House camp is from June 28 to July 9 (no classes on July 2 or 5) and the Oak Cliff camp is from July 12 to July 23 (no classes on July 16 or 19).

Memories & Mosaics is CAC’s first creative aging program and will be held at St. Matthews Episcopal Church. The eight-week will serve 15 underserved seniors and will culminate in an exhibit at Cathedral Arts, St. Matthews’ art center. It will begin July 9 through August 27 with the exhibition to be held in September. It will offer painting, printmaking, collage, mixed media, and mosaic. The program is funded by the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs.

According to Diana Pollak, the success of programs like Camp MetalHead, Run with the Pack and Memories & Mosaic is a result of collaborative partnerships which are at the heart of the 55-year-old Creative Arts Center. “By developing networks among existing neighborhood resources—such as the area schools, libraries, recreation centers and other nonprofits, CAC ensures that these teens and seniors are engaged, learning and expanding their creativity,” said Ms. Pollak.

CAC BACKGROUND: Founded by notable Mexican-American artist, Octavio Medellin in 1966, CAC is located on a two-acre campus off of Ferguson Road in White Rock Hills, four miles east of downtown Dallas. Last year, more than 1,200 students took more than 500 classes and workshops at CAC.

As a nonprofit community arts organization and school of visual arts geared to working artists and adult students of all skill levels, CAC also serves an incubator for emerging artists. In addition to its metal and jewelry departments, additional classes are offered in ceramics, clay sculpture, drawing, fused glass, fiber arts, mosaic, painting, printmaking, stone carving and welding. Instructors include well-known artists and art educators whose work is in public and private collections, including Art Garcia, Sonia King, Dave Kramer and others.
CREATIVE ARTS CENTER of DALLAS Center Yourself Est. 1966 Octavio Medellin

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Media Contact: Diana Pollak, 972-345-8429 (cell)
[email protected]