Art Classes and Summer Youth Programs
Elk County Council on the Arts (ECCOTA) Gallery, 237 Main Street, Ridgway, PA 15853
About
Art Classes and Summer Youth Programs includes Summer Art Programs & Classes, weekly art programming, Kids Art Classes, a Summer Art Camp, and a Summer Theater Camp. The program also offers activities such as Art After Hours, making paper cranes to participate in the Peace Crane Project, and an annual children’s theater workshop, along with art classes and workshops for both adults and children.
• Schedule: Each Wednesday the program hosts free Art After Hours from 5–8 PM, with additional classes, events, and summer youth programs and classes offered at various times.
Founded in 1984 as a center for the development of all the arts in the Elk County area, the Elk County Council on the Arts later changed its name in 1986 and has moved a total of five times before settling at its current gallery space. Over time, summer youth programming grew from a week of Kids Art Classes into a full Summer Art Camp and a Summer Theater Camp, developed with the help of college students whose employment was partially funded by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and the Stackpole-Hall Foundation. In summer 2008, a Summer Theater Camp began, and the organization has also presented a Summer Concert Series in Elk County since 2005, along with monthly exhibits, classes, events, and Cottage Industry classes such as batik, weaving, tile-making, paper making, and calligraphy.
The Elk County Council on the Arts states that it is dedicated to promoting the cultural enrichment of residents of Elk County and the surrounding region by expanding the opportunity for public participation in the arts, with a goal of enhancing the lives of county residents and local arts by offering experiences in the arts, providing educational opportunity and advice, and supporting performers, musicians, artists, artisans, and writers. As a non-profit organization and Pennsylvania Partner in the Arts from 2007 to 2025, it has re-granted funds to hundreds of projects and programs across nine counties and helps administer Pennsylvania Council on the Arts–allocated Arts in Education residencies in five counties. The organization has also contracted with the Elkwood Arts Program to display and sell the handiwork of persons with disabilities, sponsors bus trips to musicals, concerts, and other events, and continues to support artists by administering grants such as Local Government and Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Project and Program Stream Grants.
Last updated July 11, 2026.
• Schedule: Each Wednesday the program hosts free Art After Hours from 5–8 PM, with additional classes, events, and summer youth programs and classes offered at various times.
Founded in 1984 as a center for the development of all the arts in the Elk County area, the Elk County Council on the Arts later changed its name in 1986 and has moved a total of five times before settling at its current gallery space. Over time, summer youth programming grew from a week of Kids Art Classes into a full Summer Art Camp and a Summer Theater Camp, developed with the help of college students whose employment was partially funded by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and the Stackpole-Hall Foundation. In summer 2008, a Summer Theater Camp began, and the organization has also presented a Summer Concert Series in Elk County since 2005, along with monthly exhibits, classes, events, and Cottage Industry classes such as batik, weaving, tile-making, paper making, and calligraphy.
The Elk County Council on the Arts states that it is dedicated to promoting the cultural enrichment of residents of Elk County and the surrounding region by expanding the opportunity for public participation in the arts, with a goal of enhancing the lives of county residents and local arts by offering experiences in the arts, providing educational opportunity and advice, and supporting performers, musicians, artists, artisans, and writers. As a non-profit organization and Pennsylvania Partner in the Arts from 2007 to 2025, it has re-granted funds to hundreds of projects and programs across nine counties and helps administer Pennsylvania Council on the Arts–allocated Arts in Education residencies in five counties. The organization has also contracted with the Elkwood Arts Program to display and sell the handiwork of persons with disabilities, sponsors bus trips to musicals, concerts, and other events, and continues to support artists by administering grants such as Local Government and Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Project and Program Stream Grants.
Last updated July 11, 2026.
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