PCA&D marking Hispanic Heritage Month with classes, art, and student activities

As celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15) kick off later this week, Pennsylvania College of Art & Design is excited to share a roundup of activities that not only honor and observe but also educate and expand creative opportunities: 

• Saturday, Sept. 17: The College’s Admissions Department and Center for Creative Exploration team up at Festival Latinoamericano 2022 in the New Holland Community Park. More information on the event, which runs from noon to 9 pm, can be found here. 
• Saturday, Sept. 24: As part of a daylong celebration of creativity at PCA&D’s York location (133 S. Duke St., York), an event that includes an Art Market with artists from PCA&D and around the region, artist Claudia Rojas will be running a free workshop in which participants can make a 4×4-inch artwork inspired by Latinx art. Learn more here about full day of events. 
• Wednesday, Oct. 5: Mi Gente, PCA&D’s Latinx and Hispanic student organization, will host a potluck and games lunch at 11: 30 am. Other events hosted by Mi Gente are in the works.

In addition, the College’s Center for Creative Exploration has several upcoming workshops and classes tied to Hispanic Heritage Month and Latinx culture:

• Sept. 28 through Oct. 12: Creating New Mundos: A Spanglish Creative Writing Class of Cuentos | Explore the power of creación that Spanglish grants, and give life to the worlds that live in nuestra imaginación. Examine cuentos by Latinx writers, discuss writing techniques, styles, and processes of creation, and provide feedback and support while participants give life to their historias. Led by Jose Guillermo Rodriguez Plaza. 
• Oct. 4 and Oct. 11: Intergenerational Studio: Ages 13-Adult, Vejigante Masks | A two-session class in which participants listen to traditional Puerto Rican music, learn Boricua music, and create vejigante masks from paint and plaster wrap materials. Led by Kathy Rodriguez. 
• Oct. 12-26: Homeschool Studio Art, Grades 1-5 | A three-session class led by instructor Kathy Rodriguez in which students will create projects such as sun catchers, bean mosaic art, pressed leaf art, flower art, and more, using recycled and natural materials. 
• Oct. 29 and Nov. 5: Exploring Puerto Rico – Taino Arts and Crafts, Grades 1-3 | Led by instructor Kathy Rodriguez, students in this two-session class will learn about the Tainos of Borikén through rock painting, clay pot making, fossil making, jewelry, and more. 

Earlier this month, the Center for Creative Exploration teamed up with Teatro Paloma for a First Friday art project in Art Alley, downtown Lancaster. Locally based Teatro Paloma produces Latinx-centered plays and and original works in both English and Spanish, and you can learn more about that organization here. 

Top image: A young artist shows off her project completed during a First Friday collaboration between the College’s Center for Creative Exploration and Teatro Paloma.