Sweetwater Center for the Arts Classes and Summer Camps

Sweetwater Center for the Arts Classes and Summer Camps offers activities in visual arts, literary arts, music, and culinary arts. The program includes cooking classes, ceramics, metals, jazz concerts, camps, and festivals led by local teaching artists.

• Ages: 0–18 years old
• Schedule: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–4:30 PM, with additional evening and weekend hours depending on the class schedule

Sweetwater Center for the Arts was established in 1975 and has offered arts education for all ages for about fifty years. Its historic facility includes exhibitions, ceramics and metals studios, camps, festivals, and spaces specifically designed to support people of different learning styles and abilities. Programs are led by local teaching artists, and the organization operates as a nonprofit with a mission to provide transformative artistic experiences for communities west of Pittsburgh and beyond, including professional development for artists.

The leadership team includes Terri Tunick (President), Tracey Staley (Vice President), Josh Fogle (Treasurer), Bonita Lee Penn (Secretary), and board members Gary Bates, Marcie McClintic Coates, James Craske, and Shari Dearth. Sweetwater Center for the Arts partners with local schools, leads programs for seniors and at-risk youth, and uses a mobile art unit called Sweet Ride to bring arts experiences directly into the community. It also hosts annual cultural events such as the Mavuno Festival celebrating Black art and artists, the Sweet Jazz outdoor summer concert series featuring local jazz musicians, and Holiday mART, a holiday market focused on local artistry.

Last updated July 12, 2026.