Studio School Youth Art Programs
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, 68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
About
Studio School Youth Art Programs take place within the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey’s Studio School, which includes ten studios designed specifically for media ranging from ceramics to painting. The programs are part of a robust four-semester Studio School that is connected to public programming allowing participants to interact with exhibiting artists. Studio School Youth Art Programs are offered in a facility that also includes several galleries dedicated to contemporary art exhibitions, including the Main Gallery with slanted 30-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, the Mitzi & Warren Eisenberg Gallery, and the Marité & Joe Robinson Strolling Galleries.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Building open Monday–Thursday 9 AM–10 PM, Friday 9 AM–6 PM, Saturday–Sunday 10 AM–5 PM; gallery hours Monday–Thursday 10 AM–8 PM, Friday 10 AM–5 PM, Saturday–Sunday 11 AM–4 PM; between semesters, hours may vary
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, which runs Studio School Youth Art Programs, traces its history to 1931, when seven painters rented a studio loft together in the McClay Building on Springfield Avenue in Summit. The organization was officially founded in 1933 as the Summit Art Association, moved several times, and in 1969 established its permanent home at 68 Elm Street, with a new building opened for its fortieth anniversary in 1973 and a fifth studio added in 1975. In 1981, it received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, and in 2005 it held the grand re-opening of its newly expanded 23,000 square foot facility. In 2008, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded the Art Center a Citation of Excellence and designated it a Major Impact Organization, and it has received four Discover Jersey Arts People’s Choice Awards for “Favorite Place to Take an Adult Arts Class.”
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey states that its mission is to nurture the capacity for personal expression, expand the creative experience, and foster stronger communities by empowering people to see, make, and learn about art. It describes its vision as creating an inclusive and welcoming community where lives are transformed and enriched through the shared experience of art. Through exhibitions, the Studio School, and community programs, the Art Center states that it engenders connection, curiosity, and creative risk-taking among its constituents and fulfills its vision in part through in-community programs for seniors, at-risk youth, and adults with disabilities. The organization also formally acknowledges the Lenape peoples on whose ancestral homes it is situated, as well as diverse Native communities who live in the area today and Indigenous communities past, present, and future.
Last updated July 20, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Building open Monday–Thursday 9 AM–10 PM, Friday 9 AM–6 PM, Saturday–Sunday 10 AM–5 PM; gallery hours Monday–Thursday 10 AM–8 PM, Friday 10 AM–5 PM, Saturday–Sunday 11 AM–4 PM; between semesters, hours may vary
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, which runs Studio School Youth Art Programs, traces its history to 1931, when seven painters rented a studio loft together in the McClay Building on Springfield Avenue in Summit. The organization was officially founded in 1933 as the Summit Art Association, moved several times, and in 1969 established its permanent home at 68 Elm Street, with a new building opened for its fortieth anniversary in 1973 and a fifth studio added in 1975. In 1981, it received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, and in 2005 it held the grand re-opening of its newly expanded 23,000 square foot facility. In 2008, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded the Art Center a Citation of Excellence and designated it a Major Impact Organization, and it has received four Discover Jersey Arts People’s Choice Awards for “Favorite Place to Take an Adult Arts Class.”
The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey states that its mission is to nurture the capacity for personal expression, expand the creative experience, and foster stronger communities by empowering people to see, make, and learn about art. It describes its vision as creating an inclusive and welcoming community where lives are transformed and enriched through the shared experience of art. Through exhibitions, the Studio School, and community programs, the Art Center states that it engenders connection, curiosity, and creative risk-taking among its constituents and fulfills its vision in part through in-community programs for seniors, at-risk youth, and adults with disabilities. The organization also formally acknowledges the Lenape peoples on whose ancestral homes it is situated, as well as diverse Native communities who live in the area today and Indigenous communities past, present, and future.
Last updated July 20, 2026.
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