Health

Brookline Arts Center wants to help you make art at home during isolation

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Keeping busy at home without watching television can be a challenge.

So the Brookline Arts Center wants to help people of all artistic skill levels do that free of charge. The Center is now offering a new program called Art at Home.

“Now is a great time to start something new that you’ve never done before,” said Lauren Rivello, Executive Director of the Brookline Arts Center. “What we’ve been really working on is developing a series of online art activities that anyone can have access to for free.”

There are projects for people of all ages, like learning how to make marbleized paper for kids. Each project is outlined step by step and gives a list of supplies, usually things that can be found around the house. Teenagers or adults can take on more detailed projects on the site.

Riviello believes art can be a great antidote to these stressful times.

“We really feel like art has the capacity for bringing people together and building connections. It kind of allows people to have conversations while they’re working together.”

There's also the ability to send a powerful message to another person at the same time. "A lot of times with art, it does provide a tool for expressing our emotion," added Riviello.

This free program is not limited to Brookline residents and is available to anyone.

The Brookline Arts Center relies on paying customers for about three quarters of its budget so they’re also looking into developing more extensive paid online classes if the shutdown extends far into the future.

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[Resources for people feeling anxiety over COVID-19 can be found here and here]