Club Create wants to 'keep arts alive' for adults with disabilities
Club Create (CC) is an art program for adults with disabilities that meets every second Thursday of the month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Art Reach in Mount Pleasant. CC was introduced through Michigan Art’s Access, a Detroit based non-profit organization.
Danny McQuarters, an education coordinator of Art Reach and a director of CC, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of opportunities such as sports, games and ways to socialize for people with disabilities were shut down. CC was organized in July 2021 as a new way for people with disabilities to have fun, create art and make friends.
“We wanted to offer opportunities,” McQuarters said.
According to the Art Reach website, it costs $3 to attend one class.
Amy Powell, an executive director of Art Reach, said the club is supported by funds from donations and grants.
“We are thrilled by the fact that we can get financial support for Club Create,” Powell said.
According to McQuarters, there are five students who come to every club meeting. However, some classes have had 15 participants.
“This is a really fun group,” McQuarters said.
Teachers who come to teach classes are recruited from the community, McQuarters said. Teachers submit the application to Art Reach, then they are trained with Michigan Arts Access.
Powell said there were classes that taught the basics of clay, painting, mix-media, music and dancing.
“Our goal as an organization is to keep arts alive,” Powell said.
On Oct. 13, CC met to do chalk painting with Barbara Taylor, a teacher from Michigan Arts Access.
Taylor said it was her first time working with CC in Mount Pleasant.
“The challenging and interesting aspect for me is to have enough materials and examples to adapt the projects to the needs of the students,” Taylor said.
Last week's project was called “Let it snow”. Students were painting snowmen with chalk on black sheets of paper.
Taylor said the project went "very well".
“[It is] [w]onderful to see their own creativity,” Taylor said.
Paige Rothaus, an Art Reach teacher, and Cara Denison, who was helping from Michigan Arts Access, observed the class. They said they loved how it went.
Students in the Oct. 13 class said they liked CC and they liked doing art.
Kara Watters, a caretaker who was also present during the class, said that she liked watching students interact and socialize.
Student could send their work from the class to a competition to win prizes.
“I hope the Club Create grows,” McQuarters said.
“If there is a need out in the community that we are not feeling but people feel, reach out,” McQuarters said. “We can try to make it work. If you know that there is a community that is underserved, just send us an email.”
