Mary Rigg Partners with Arts for Lawrence

Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center and Arts for Lawrence have partnered together to provide a vibrant and creative curriculum of artistic opportunities during the Mary Rigg Summer Day Camp program.

Arts for Lawrence generously donated 25 Art Camp Scholarships to Mary Rigg. These scholarships included backpacks full of the craft supplies needed for a four-week program. All students enrolled in the art camp have access to daily virtual art classroom where morning creative and afternoon performance art instruction is provided.Each week will feature a specific theme: Imagination, Creativity, Innovation, and Originality.

Summer Day Camps are important to both Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center and Arts for Lawrence communities in that they provide fun, structured activities in safe environments and reduce summer learning loss for students. Adding the visual and creative arts programming to the center’s educational and scientific curriculum will allow each student an opportunity to have new experiences and make new personal discoveries about themselves.

"While of course we are saddened not to see our campers in person this year, we have been thrilled by the enthusiastic participation in our virtual program. One silver lining is that we've been able to more than double our capacity of camp and with the help of wonderful partners like Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center, we have been able to offer it free of charge." ~ Toni Smith, Program Director, Arts for Lawrence.

“The AFL program has been a great resource for our camp groups. It has shown our kids a new and creative way of viewing art and taught them that they are capable of making creations outside of normal coloring and painting. It’s also been a great tool to our counselors. The lessons and supply bags have been comprehensive and easy to use. We really appreciate all the effort that has gone into making this program possible.” ~ Madison Eckert, Youth Program Coordinator, Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center.

“I loved the self-portrait activity. It helped made me feel confident about myself.” ~ Jaydhan, age 12, Mary Rigg camper.

“The shadow activity was fun. My artistic skills kicked in.” ~ Bill, age 9, Mary Rigg camper.

“The shadow picture was fun. We used a projector and traced the toy shadows. I was ok at it but I’m good at the other art projects.” ~ Dalton, age 8, Mary Rigg camper.

“I really liked cutting the words out of magazines for my art project. It was fun.” ~ Hailey, age 7, Mary Rigg camper.

Arts for Lawrence is a non-profit organization established in 2006.Their mission is to ensure that everyone has equal access to a full, vibrant creative life. In 2018, Arts for Lawrence received a $5.8 million Lilly Endowment award that is being used to create a Cultural Campus at Fort Benjamin Harrison.

Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center has roots in Indianapolis dating back to 1911 when it was established as the Foreign House and Immigrant Aid Association. For more than a century, the organization has served as a center of learning and recreation for Indianapolis residents of all ages, offering help and hope to more than 8,000 struggling individuals and families in southwest Indianapolis. Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center has gained national recognition and funding for a number of programs including their Before and After School youth program, Summer Day Camp, and LEADERS summer experience.