ST CROIX — You can’t spell ‘party’ without ART and that’s where Art Party STX comes into play! This creative initiative spearheaded by owner Zunnania (pronounced ZUHNUH- NAH-NAYA) Anderson started thanks to her passion of connecting with children through art. Originally from New York, Anderson began her professional journey as an artist and art educator in the public school system. She loved teaching children and seeing the way art made an impact in their lives; however, lack of funding often marred by politics was frustrating and resulted in Anderson going into private art teaching.
She relocated to St. Croix after the birth of her daughter and dived headfirst into creating community through art on the island. Her work with the Boys & Girls Club and Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in Frederiksted ignited the idea of Art Party STX. “Being connected with people and the youth was at the heart of my work at the Boys & Girls Club,” recalled Anderson. “We worked on a mural for the club and the children there reminded me that there was no right or wrong way to create art.” After Anderson would show the children how to create something a certain way, they would do it in the manner they were shown but would always revert to their way of creating. Their work was so incredible that Anderson took enlarged versions of their sketches and transposed them onto the wall for the mural.
This experience helped shape Anderson as an educator, leading to a farm and art education collaboration with Jungle James, a sustainable eco-conscious farm in Frederiksted. The children in the Farm Art program (humorously known as F.A.R.T.) are welcomed into a lush garden filled with fun animal friends and inspired to express their creative skills as they learn about native plants and animals, the local ecosystem and nature. Next up for Art Party STX was activities centered on adults! Just Paint is a communal painting experience where all participants work together on one large art piece. Complete with a live band providing the art instructions, a true intersection of music and art occurs in this unique experience. Anderson’s goal with Just Paint is to allow adults to lean into their creativity and show them that being creative is as easy as any ordinary activity like grocery shopping.
The other adult class has the essence of a sip & paint minus the guided instruction where attendees are given a theme, like a song lyric or an object, and they create a piece centered on that individual through that theme. With a little critical thinking and problem solving, each person leaves with a piece that holds true meaning to them personally.
Art Party STX hosts several events throughout the island at gatherings such as Art Thursday, Jump Up and other community outings. To learn more about Art Party STX, visit them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ ArtPartySTX.
Written by Anquanette Gaspard
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