Burlington’s ONE Arts Center isn’t your average afterschool program. Other than the size of the humans, the vibe is more makerspace than childcare facility. The scratch of scissors and rustling paper fills the air as elementary school-age kids gamely trade Perler beads or compliment one another’s work. Some are lost in group arts projects while others fervently hot-glue details on their latest creations — think 3D paper dolls, cardboard houses, stuffed animals and DIY Pokémon cards.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Waterway Stage teacher Lauren Larken Scuderi and the center’s director, Mikayla Messier, helped kids explore ways to incorporate watershed science into theater design and playwriting. On Thursday, attendees came home with sculptures made from random materials such as bottle caps and fabric scraps — an homage to the television series “Chopped,” where chefs get a basket of mystery ingredients. Regardless of the day or project, kids are encouraged to follow their creativity.
Soon, people of all ages will be invited to do the same. On January 29, the center moved from cramped quarters on North Champlain Street to a more spacious base at 294 North Winooski Avenue, a longtime community hub previously home to arts nonprofit North End Studios. The move enables the center to add programs for middle schoolers, high schoolers and families, as well as public events.
“We welcome the opportunity to bring art making to more of our community,” cofounder Becca McHale wrote in an email.
The move marks a new phase for the organization, which got its start in 2012 when McHale and Margaret Coleman met over coffee and found they shared a desire to build local connections and community through art. By 2013, they had opened the original arts center and were offering afterschool programs. By 2021, they’d cofounded ONE Arts Inc., an arts education nonprofit that also operates two preschools, in Burlington and Colchester.
This year’s move was made possible by $60,000 in grants from Vermont Afterschool and community donations solicited through a fundraising video starring several students. The new arts center is wheelchair accessible, has plenty of parking, and includes two bathrooms and 300 additional square feet of space.
The amenities allow McHale and Coleman to expand services to as many as 26 children at a time — up from a maximum of 15 students at the former space — and to apply for an afterschool childcare program license from the State of Vermont. ONE Arts has informally provided full scholarships to students in need for years, but licensure will allow more students who qualify for childcare subsidies to participate.
As for what the general public can expect, the team has introduced a new six-month program through a grant from Vermont Community Foundation to offer inclusive, all-needs family workshops such as weaving and printmaking. It will also be purchasing two adaptive looms, one to accommodate wheelchairs and the other for use by the center’s youngest artists.
“People with children with differing needs or abilities can come, siblings can come, and we’re having art therapists collaborate with artists to design the workshops,” Coleman said. The center teams up with working artists whenever possible. Its staff includes local comic artist Ivan Klipstein and designer and maker Joanne Kalisz. Pievy Polyte‘s vivid paintings of his native Haiti are currently displayed throughout the space, and the team plans to showcase new artists on a regular basis.
Other possibilities include making the preschool available for childcare during adult art classes. Messier said the center is considering offering paint-and-sip and draw-and-drink classes, if there’s enough interest.
McHale added that while ONE Arts leadership has plenty of thoughts on future programming, the organization is just as open to ideas from the community.
“We want people to know what we do,” she said. “But we’re also willing and eager to collaborate.”
This article appears in Feb 21-27, 2024.
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