Studio Arts Program
↓ SAP
↓ Humboldt Park Residence
↓ Impact & Success
↓ Our Instructors
↓ APPLY NOW – Apprenticeship 
Studio Arts Program
The Studio Arts Program (SAP) offers year-round arts training to Chicago teens ages 14 to 18. Our program is aligned to Chicago Public Schools’ calendar to offer after-school and summer-intensive workshops. Under the supervision of a qualified Teaching-Artist teens learn:
Elements & Principles of Art & Design
Fine Arts & Design literacy
Training in various art mediums and techniques including drawing, painting, printmaking, graphic design, mosaic, and others
Job readiness skills such as: Time Management, Teamwork, Project Presentations, Analytical Thinking & Critique, and Art History
Opportunities to work in community art projects
Exhibition presentation in our community gallery
Field trips to museums and artists' studio visits
Academic Advising
The Studio Arts Program follows the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality criteria, maintains City and State guidelines for the hiring of Artists-Instructors which includes: Mandated Reporter Training, Finger Printing & Background check, and National Registry for Sex Offenders clearance. Our program facilities are audited by the City of Chicago Department of Family Support Services and by Independent Evaluators, as well as our own teens.
Our Studio Arts & Exhibition Program’s facilities and classes are audited by the City of Chicago Department of Family Support Services and by Independent Evaluators, as well as our own teens.
Studio Arts @ Humboldt Park
Studio Arts Apprenticeship Experimental Painting
1440 N Sacramento Ave, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60622
The Experimental Painting program will provide teens with the opportunity to experiment and create unique individual projects. Teens will work mixing medium and techniques such as charcoal, pencil, watercolor, acrylics, and others. Teens will apply job skills such as time management, individual & team work, project presentations, critiques, and others. Teens will work under the mentorship of professional artist, Mara Ayala that will lead to producing a final project to be showcased at our gallery. Be sure to select ‘Studio Arts Program/Saturday Experimental Painting’ in your ASM application to schedule an interview for admission.
Instructor: Reynaldo Rodriguez
Saturdays: 10:30am to 2:30pm
Fall, Spring, and Summer Sessions
To apply go to After School Matters and look for Studio Arts Program/ Saturday Experimental Painting or email to info@praachicago.org for more details.
Studio Arts Apprenticeship Mural Painting
1440 N Sacramento Ave, 2nd Floor, Chicago IL 60622
Painting program with focus in collaborative mural painting. Teens will experiment with different acrylic painting techniques including graffiti and airbrushing. Teens will learn to develop conceptual design ideas, sketching, scaling, color theory, and painting collaboratively in a mural. Teens will apply job skills such as time management, individual & team work, presentations to clients, critiques, and execute a final mural project. Teens will work under the mentorship of professional designer and mural artist Brian Herrera. Be sure to select ‘Studio Arts Program/Mural Painting’ in your ASM application to schedule an interview for admission.
Instructor: Brian Herrera
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays: 4:30 - 7:00 PM
Fall, Spring, and Summer Sessions
To apply, go to After School Matters and look for Studio Arts Program/ Mural Painting or email to info@praachicago.org for more details.
The Studio Arts Apprenticeship for Experimental Painting and Mural Painting form part of the After School Matters’ apprenticeship roster which provide supervised apprenticeships with cash stipend incentives to students who maintain good attendance and complete work assignments in a timely fashion.
Rinconcito Open Art Studio
El Rinconcito is a free open art space for creative expression for people ages 12-25. You can meet people like you who are interested in arts, painting, drawing, printmaking, and others. El Riconcito provides a safe and welcoming studio for art making. An artist and a counselor in the studio can guide you in creative experiences, but you can opt to do your own artwork. Join us! We provide the art supplies, and you bring your creativity.
No need to apply, just stop by! For more information: info@praachicago.org
Instructor: Mara Ayala
Counselor: Ana Wagner-Sobrero
Saturdays: 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Impact & Success
Our students have used the study of art to make a difference in their academic and personal lives providing them with discipline and creative minds. It is even more rewarding to see how our students discover that ART is the professional path they want to follow.
Jennessa I. Martinez, Right of Picture & Mara Ayala (Instructor)
“Jennessa is a visual artist and spoken word poet who has lived in Chicago her entire life. Creating evocative archives, her most recent work examines street violence, urban politics, and inescapable lifestyles. Her recent exhibitions include group showcases with [blnk} Studio and 062 Gallery at Zhou B Art Center.”
Jennessa I. Martínez
Jennessa, a brilliant student from our Humboldt Park community. She completed numerous SAEP courses, but she always showed particular interest in painting. Jennessa became our first student to be admitted to the Painting Program at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago (SAIC) with a full scholarship. During her second year at SAIC, Jennessa received a summer scholarship to study painting in Venice, Italy.
In the summer of 2018 Jennessa returned home and became a co-teacher in our summer Painting Program. Recently, Jennessa graduated SAIC and was accepted in the Arts Therapy & Education Master Program at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.
Tabitha Moore
Tabitha completed two summer and year-long studio programs. She always demonstrated a commitment to her school-work while maintaining perfect attendance to her after-school apprenticeships. Tabitha was admitted to Columbia College in 2019.
Dinaluz Torres
Dinaluz, a brilliant student from Chicago’s Hermosa community. Dina, how we affectionately call her, was a leader in all summer programs she participated. Dina always expressed interest in the field of professional arts. Dina was accepted (2019) in the School of Arts at University of Illinois Chicago. She wants to become a medical illustrator.
Our Instructors
The Studio Arts Program hires a diverse team of arts professionals, instructors, and guest artists engaged in Chicago’s arts scene and communities. Most of our instructors are bilingual (Spanish/English.) If you are a teaching-artist interested in joining our team submit your resume and bio to info@praachicago.org
Mara Ayala
Mara Ayala is a native artist from Puerto Rico who recieved her Humanities Bachelor with a concentration in painting from the University of Puerto Rico. She came to Chicago to complete a Master of Fine Arts in photography at the School of the Art Institute Chicago. Mara has been an art teacher for 15 years in Chicago Public Schools. She worked as an assistant to famed Chicago photographer Ron Seymour. Mara taught digital photography at the Photojournalism Workshop in San Juan, PR during 2006-2007. Mara has exhibited her works in numerous Chicago galleries and at the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, Mara was a drawing and painting teacher to children and adults for six years at Verte Arte art school. During her years of teaching, her young students won many art competitions. Mara engages in the community of students and parents, and for that she has been nominated to the National Apple Teacher Award. In Chicago, Mara has been a dedicated teaching-artist of the Studio Arts apprenticeship program for the past three years, thus creating a community of wellness at the Humboldt Park Field House studio.
Cristian J Roldán
Chicago-based muralist, Cristian J. Roldán, has been honing his skill in public art for several years. Graduating with a B.A. in sociology from the University of Puerto Rico, Cristian’s background in social and political science has informed the conceptualization of his artwork, engaging themes such as identity in the diaspora, collective memory, social equity, psychogeography and public sphere. Roldán uses art as a mean to stimulate the social imagination and raise critical question about the status quo. He studied a Master in Art Education in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he is currently writing his thesis in the use of public art to sculpt the critical space to create free alternative learning spaces that can serve to educate the public in marginalized communities as a way to emancipate the mind from what the scholar Paulo Freire named ‘banking education’. Cristian joined SAEP in the Spring 2020 teaching the Clemente Mural Project apprenticeship. More about Cristian at cjroldan.com
Brian Herrera
Brian is a Chicago based artist specializing in design and illustration. Born in Veracruz, Mexico and raised in Chicago, Herrera’s work explores the themes of immigrant identity and queer culture through different mediums. He is the founder of Crossin’ Borders Magazine, a platform curated by and for contemporary undocumented immigrant artists. Herrera is a member of the inaugural class of Define American Undocumented Art Fellows, a unique artist development program available to undocumented artists in all mediums. Brian put into implementation the Clemente Mural Project where he led apprentices into the creation of three large murals in the interior of the school. More about Brian can be found at brianherrera.art
