Enriching Lives Through Art
Clay Art Center is proud to bring quality clay programming to schools and community centers, and give back to our home of Port Chester and communities in Westchester and Fairfield Counties.
The ceramic arts are incredibly enriching--it’s an approachable art form that is rewarding for beginners, yet endlessly challenging. Our programs are designed to nurture budding artists of all ages, and provide a creative outlet for all.
School Partnerships & Additional After School Programming
“Around the World in Clay” | Port Chester High School, Middle School, Grades 4-5, and Grades 2-3
Clay Art Center invites Port Chester public school students to participate in a free year-round clay program that teaches the history and importance of ceramics in different cultures around the world while giving each student the freedom to interpret and create themed projects using their own unique perspectives and imagination. With sequential, skill-based learning, hands-on projects, exposure to professional ceramic artists, and internship opportunities for our High School students, Clay Art Center is proud to bring our love of clay and ceramics to learners of all ages.
We would like to thank the Common Sense Fund for supporting this program.
After School Programming
Clay Art Center is the best resource for area schools and community organizations that wish to include the magic of clay in their after school programming. CAC has brought clay to over 20 schools in Westchester and Fairfield Counties. Please reach out for information on our afterschool programming, services and fees.
ASPIRES/ASPIRA Program
As part of a new partnership with the ASPIRES/ASPIRA Program through the Port Chester Council for the Arts, One World United and Virtuous, we are providing after school clay classes to fifth graders at all four Port Chester public elementary schools.
Community Partnerships
Partners include: Don Bosco, Port Chester Recreation
Don Bosco Community Center
Since 2005 students of the Don Bosco Community Center have worked with teaching artists to create incredible ceramic artworks and community mosaics.
Currently we offer two days of free afterschool programming to participants in the center's afterschool program thanks in part to funding from the St. Faith's House Foundation.
Port Chester Recreation Department
During the school year students learn about clay while creating imaginative artworks and building problem solving skills.
Community Events
Empty Bowls
For more than 20 years Clay Art Center has mobilized hundreds of community members and artists to create thousands of handmade ceramic bowls. Together, with Rye Presbyterian Church and a host of volunteers, we have raised over $75,000 in the fight to end hunger in Westchester County. These handmade bowls created by artists and students are sold at an event with our partner the Rye Presbyterian Church. In 2024, all proceeds will be donated to the Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester, NY.
For more information about this event please visit https://www.clayartcenter.org/emptybowls
Clay Tables
Clay Art Center participates in community events to share our love of clay with children in local communities. Find our clay tables at events like Port Chester Day, Larchmont Arts Festival, and the Armonk Outdoor Art Show. Reach out to learn more about bringing clay tables to your community event.
Clay Coming Together Workshops
Clay Coming Together is a free two hour ceramics handbuilding workshop offered in both English and Spanish. Our ceramic arts instructors teach participants how to design, make, and glaze ceramic pieces. For each workshop, we partner with a different local organization to reach a group of 8-12 adults and/or children.
We would like to thank the Kathi and Peter Arnow Foundation in supporting and funding this program.
High School Internships and Assistant Positions
Available to participants in our Port Chester High School after school program
Port Chester High School students from our Around the World in Clay after school program have the opportunity to apply for paid internships. Interns experience the inner-workings of the Clay Art Center and may be involved in everything from studio maintenance, to office administration, to assisting our teaching artists in classrooms.
Current and past high school students from our Around the World in Clay after school program gain paid hands on job experience working with CAC teachers and staff as summer camp assistants. Assistants learn skills including but not limited to classroom management and supervision, studio maintenance, clay preparation, and collaboration with peers.
We would like to thank the Common Sense Fund for supporting our internships and assistantships.