Block Party at South Haven Memorial Library with artist Sarah Rydecki

Join artist Sarah Rydecki at this "Block Party!"

This drop-in workshop is open for any age. Everyone is welcome. We strive to connect with residents of South Haven and Van Buren County.

Free drop-in workshop. No registration necessary. All supplies provided.

During these Create and Connect art-making events, community members will be encouraged to express something about themselves as they design on wooden toy building blocks. All the uniquely individual wooden blocks will be put together as collaborative sculptures that represent unity, community, and creativity!

The Create and Connect project has been made possible through a Community Partners grant from a partnership between the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and Arts Midwest. The grant asks communities to use arts and cultural projects to foster partnerships and to tackle problems important to the community. We have chosen to focus on community healing after two years of pandemic stress and isolation, as well as from the trauma of the shootings in our community. We are exploring storytelling, art, and play as tools for mental health and well-being. Our direct collaborators are the South Haven Memorial Library and The Mitten, South Haven’s new children’s museum. By the time our work is through, there will be three big block sculptures, one at each of these locations representing as many members of our community as possible. And that is where we need you!

Create and Connect is a community art initiative lead by artist Sarah Rydecki in collaboration with the South Haven Center for the Arts, the South Haven Memorial Library, and the Mitten Children's Museum. The project is made possible through funding from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, ArtsMidwest and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Want to get started right away? Check out Sarah's Art Starters on our blog: https://www.southhavenarts.org/.../categories/create-connect