Special programs
Through My Sole (TMS) - Sneaker Design
TMS is a challenging, fun, and creative sneaker design class with a vision to empower and engage. TMS is designed to provide students with an understanding of the history, culture, and trends in sneaker design. Students utilize a combination of art, sneaker culture, branding, and group dialogue as a means for personal growth and self-expression. Students obtain the tools and knowledge to create their own sneaker design and gain a stronger sense of their creative and personal identity. Students are also introduced to the business side of sneaker culture and how to utilize their newly acquired skills to become future entrepreneurs. The ultimate goal of Through My Sole-Sneaker is to spark imagination and critical thinking to help develop confident and innovative lifelong learners.
Through My Sole (TMS) - Skateboard Design
Like TMS-Sneaker Design, TMS-Skateboard provides students with many of the same skills, activities, and experiences. Students in this class learn how the modern-day skateboard traces its origins to the surfboard and how skateboarding has become a global activity, that in addition to its traditional use, has become another way to express art and identity through functional design.
OfA Mariachi Ensembles
Since 2018, OfA has worked with Azuela Elementary and the Summit and Berwyn North School Districts to provide students in grades 3 to 8 with instruction in the time-honored musical art of Mariachi. Through OfA's Teaching Artists, students learn the music and culture of mariachi, while also gaining lifelong artistic, technical, and linguistic skills.