The ISM launches pilot program for after-school visual arts studio

Beginning on September 30, 2026, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) will launch a new 12-week after-school visual arts pilot program for New Haven middle-school students in grades 6–8. Meeting on Wednesdays from 4:30–5:45 p.m. at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1324 Chapel Street, the program will give students a welcoming, hands-on environment in which to experiment with visual art materials, develop creative skills, and explore their own ideas through making.

Using a “studio-as-laboratory” approach, students will be encouraged to experiment, make choices, take creative risks, and discover their own ways of creating rather than simply reproducing a predetermined artwork. The program emphasizes the creative process as well as the finished product and will introduce students to art from different times, places, and cultural traditions while encouraging connections to their own experiences and communities.

This semester’s pilot initiative will bring together Yale students and New Haven public school art educators to expand opportunities for young people to engage meaningfully with the arts outside the traditional classroom. The ISM is grateful to Immanuel Baptist Church for generously welcoming us into their space. While the program is non-religious and administered by the ISM, the church has been a valued partner in providing a warm and welcoming environment for participating students and families. Church staff have also worked behind the scenes to prepare and care for the space, reflecting Immanuel Baptist Church’s longstanding commitment to serving its neighborhood and extending hospitality to the wider community.

Parents and guardians interested in learning more about the program or how their child can participate can email Mariana Torrens Arias.