First Day of Shwab Art Club 2026 Fall Semester

Shwab Art Club is officially BACK!

On September 10th, we welcomed our Shwab elementary artists for the first day of fall semester Art Club through our youth program, Gigi’s Creative Corner!

We’re especially excited to welcome back Daybreak Artist A.M. Hassan, who is returning to lead another semester of Art Club and share their creativity, experience, and artistic practice with the next generation of young artists. We’re also thrilled to have our lead volunteer, Kelly, back with us for another semester! Kelly has been such an important part of creating a welcoming, supportive space for our young artists, and we’re grateful to have her alongside us again.

We also welcomed three students back from last semester! When they arrived for the first day of Art Club, we were thrilled to discover that their sketchbooks were completely filled from creating all summer. Luckily, everyone received a brand-new sketchbook yesterday to fill with another semester of ideas, experiments, and artwork!

We began the semester by creating name tags, setting intentions for our shared creative space, and getting our new sketchbooks started. Then, we introduced photography as a tool for creative expression and self-discovery. Students used instant cameras to experiment with poses, facial expressions, camera angles, backgrounds, and lighting as they created their own self-portraits. Each student selected a favorite portrait to bring into next week’s activity, where we’ll continue exploring self-identity through art.

This is what access to arts education can look like: a dedicated space where young people can experiment without fear of getting it “wrong,” discover new ways to express themselves, build confidence in their creative voices, and see themselves as artists.

We’re grateful to the partners making this opportunity possible for our students this school year: Holloway Family Foundation, Ingram Charities, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Ernest and Selma Rosenblum Fund for the Performing Arts, and the Tennessee Arts Commission.

We’re also thankful to our program partners PENCIL, Shwab Elementary, and Metro Nashville Public Schools for helping make Art Club possible!

Thank you all for investing in young artists and helping us create more pathways for creativity, connection, and self-expression.