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 Program @ Humboldt Park Field House

1440 N Sacramento Ave, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60622

The Studio Arts Program (SAP) is a Chicago Park District Arts Partner in Residence at Humboldt Park Field House. SAP forms 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. Teens learn how to draw, paint, print in different mediums and techniques while developing professional skills. Teens develop individual projects and work collaborative in large format works of art to be showcased in our Studio Arts Community Gallery space, become part of a community space.

To apply go to After School Matters and look for Studio Arts Program or email to info@praachicago.org for more details.

The Clemente Mural Program @ Roberto Clemente Community Academy

1147 N Western Ave Rm. 202, Chicago, IL 60622

The Clemente Mural Project (CMP) is an extension of our Studio Arts Program in residence at Roberto Clemente High School. The Clemente Mural Project forms 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. The Clemente Mural Project intends to address the school's identity and culture through mural work. Teens work in different media such as paint, stenciling, airbrushing, collage, and mosaic techniques. Under the leadership of a master-artist, teens learn to gather ideas from peers, develop concepts, conduct design exercises, develop visual presentations, and create a mural project, from wall preparation to the unveiling of a final project. Open to CPS students across the city.

To apply, go to After School Matters and look for The Clemente Mural Project or email to info@praachicago.org for more details.

Student’s Stories of Achievement

In the last eight years we have seen our students grow and move on into college. It is great to see how the study of art have made 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. Many of our students have been admitted to prestigious art schools such as Columbia College, The Fine Arts School at UIC, and the School of Art Institute of Chicago. Here some success stories.

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. When Jennessa graduated high school, she received offers from Parsons School of Design in New York and from the School of Arts at Berkley. But Jennessa decided to stay in Chicago. 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. Jennessa demonstrated a professional and cool demeanor that engaged students deeply. It was great to see one of our students returning in an arts-education leadership role. Jennessa just graduated SAIC and was accepted in the Arts Therapy & Education Master Program at the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.

Something we found about Jennessa:

“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.”

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.

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 studied her Humanities Bachelor with a concentration in painting of 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, 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-artists 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. Graduated with a B.A. in sociology from the University of Puerto Rico, Cristian 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