Artscope

Founded in 2002, Artscope is a youth arts organization centered on the development of creative skills in young people. We foster a love for creative thinking, and value it as a practical skill required for problem solving, solution-oriented thinking, and experimentation.

By encouraging children to develop an artistic idea and follow it through to a conclusion, using whatever materials and resources are available, we help them build confidence in their own creative abilities.

We believe play fosters imaginative engagement with the natural world, our communities, and each other. At Artscope, we encourage visionary play, or play that pushes students to dream beyond their limitations and build the future they want to live in.

At Artscope, children spend as much time outdoors as the weather allows, exploring their surroundings, inventing new games, and connecting with friends. We understand our connection to and dependence on the natural world. We value sustainability and our relationship to urban and natural landscapes.

Artscope programs include our popular School's Out and Summer Camp Create programs. When school is out, Artscope is open, with day-long programs filled with art-making, creative activities and lots of outdoor play. Artscope hosts Summer Camp Create at two locations in Tower Grove Park, with 15% of campers attending on a full scholarship.

Artscope sends artists-in-residence to local schools in South City that don't have an art teacher on staff. Our current school partners include St. Francis Cabrini School, Marian Middle School, Kairos Academies and St. Cecilia School and Academy.

Artscope also partners with local organizations to provide arts programming. With our partner DeSales Community Development Corporation, we have provided a spring break camp and a free summer pop-up art experience for neighborhood children in Fox Park.

Artscope also provides before and after school programs to schools, and offers evening and weekend classes at our Tower Grove Park cottage, including our popular Cartoon Club for middle school students, where students learn drawing skills to create their own comics and cartoons.