Outreach Programs

“Changing Lives Through Art”

Encompassing 28 different programs, offered to 30 different groups at 25 different sites. These programs offer life-long learning opportunities from preschool to seniors/adults with the goal of truly changing lives for the better through art.

These education programs include:

• Parker Street Summer Camp;
• Parker Street After School Program;
• Parker Street Teen Zine Program;
• Teen Parent Program at 2 locations;
• Creative Arts & Activities Preschool Program at Salvation Army and Lighthouse Ministries;
• Adults with Disabilities Programs at Goodwill & 2 St. Agnes Group Homes;
• Family Fun Workshops both on-site and off-site;
• Family Day, Halloween, Day of the Dead, Kwanzaa, and Mayfaire children’s tent;
• Girl Scout Badge Workshops;
• Teens At-Risk Program at 2 sites
• Art with a Heart Hospital Art Cart;
• Scholarships for children and adult students in need;
• Art tours and/or instruction for private schools.

These programs are designed to target a wide variety of individuals primarily in and around Lakeland. These combined programs offer art outreach to over 7,500 individuals.

Some of these people are served once while others are served year round. Approximately 90% of these participants are children and teens, but we also connect with adults through interaction with the children.

These programs are vital to our youth because the arts play a significant role in child development and their learning process as evidenced in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Family Fun Workshops

Polk Museum of Art offers Family Fun Workshops which are FREE and open to the public all year round. It provides an opportunity for families to participate together in hands-on art activities that focus on a variety of themes. These Family Fun Workshops are held the first Saturday morning the month at the Museum from 10:30 -  noon, and then are repeated the third Saturday morning of the month at various off site locations including the Plant City Library, Auburndale Public Library, Lake Wales Library and More. Registration is not required. See the schedule here.

Teen Parent Program

This unique Museum/School partnership focuses on age and developmentally appropriate art activities for unwed teens. Our Teen Parent programming is held at Travis Tech and Ridge Community Center. The purpose of programming is to help mothers connect with their children through photography and scrap-booking. Through this activity participants learn the important life skills of responsibility and teamwork in a safe, nurturing environment. Their memory books are personally-inspired keepsakes which contain pictures, photographs, drawings and other memorabilia documenting their experiences as a teen parent. They design their books from conceptualization, to design, to finished product. The Teen Parent program is made possible through a grant from an Anonymous Donor within the Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland.

Teens at Risk

Polk Museum of Art partners with AMI Kids and PACE Center for Girls to promote self esteem and a creative outlet for thoughts and emotions. These teens have been placed in "last chance" educational facilities to help the better cope with behavior issues exhibited in the standard public schools. Allowing these young people to express themselves in a positive way often helps them achieve greater success in all aspects of their lives.

Parker Street Ministries

Parker Street Ministries is a non-profit organization serving the Parker Street Neighborhood of Lakeland, Florida.  76% of the children of Parker Street live below the poverty level due largely to the neighborhoods 90% unemployment rate. Parker Street Ministries runs afterschool and summer camp programs for these children. PMoA provides afterschool art class once a week during the school-year, art classes and hot lunches for summer camp and a program for middle-high school students called Teen Zine.

Parker Street Afterschool Art serves children in grades K-4. Projects are designed to let kids have fun while exposing them to a variety of art techniques and projects.

Teen Zine is designed especially for middle-high school students. Students create artwork, then learn the elements of assembling the pieces into a handmade magazine called a “zine”. The finished zine is distribute free of charge to the community.

Our Museum Educator, Kristen Holland, teaches art to the 78 Parker Street students who participate in the Parker Street Summer Camp. The projects are similar to Afterschool Art yet serve a broader age range and run every morning for four weeks.  In addition to providing art classes, the Museum also supplies the camp with hot lunches for all students and neighborhood volunteers during this time period.

Adults with Disabilities

Polk Museum of Art provides art classes for two local organizations working with Adults with Disabilities: The Society of St Agnes and Goodwill Training Center.

The Society of Saint Agnes is a local organization where women with disabilities live and are encouraged to experience new things such as work programs, singing, and art. The Society of St Agnes has two homes in Polk County where five to six women with a range of disabilities live. Each home has an art class with a Museum Educator, Kristen Holland, from Polk Museum of Art twice a month. Classes focus on introducing the women to different materials and helping them make something they can be proud of and use in their everyday lives.

The Goodwill Training Center employs adults with a wide range of disabilities and also teaches these adults life skills.  Those employed by the Goodwill Training Center learn several different jobs and are supported financially enough to live independently. Adults from the center meet for art twice a week with Kristen Holland from Polk Museum of Art. Projects with adults at the training center are based in classic art mediums such as painting and drawing. These adults have proved to be very creative. They love naming their pieces and conceptualizing the things that they are going to be making.

Start with the Arts Pre-school

Our Pre-School program serves Salvation Army and Lighthouse Ministries daycare for children experiencing homelessness.  Our ‘Start with the Arts’ program runs once a week, during the school year, at these daycare facilities. Both Lighthouse Ministries and Salvation Army have residential programs where families may live and work on the premises while their children receive free pre-school. The ‘Start with the Arts’ program is designed to not only give children an understanding of visual art but also expose them to music, drama, and literature.  Kristen teaches the program as well as bringing in guest artists from the community.

Art Cart

Polk Museum of Art has provided an Art Cart for the Pediatric wing at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. It is fully stocked with art supplies and materials for the kids and families staying in the hospital to enjoy. A book full of art activities, instructions, and ideas is provided with the cart to inspire creativity. Museum Educator, Kristen Holland visits once a month with updated art lessons to teach basic art skills and to give the children a fun and artistic outlet.

Scholarship Program

The Museum has a scholarship program to educate and be accessible to all residence of Polk County no matter their economic status. Available to youth and adults.