by Tracy McPartland, Co-Executive Director - Eastern Iowa Arts Academy
As we begin out thirteenth week of working from home, all of us at EIAA hope that you are hanging in there, staying safe and healthy and finding some time to be creative. We are working to stay connected to all of you and to provide lots of ways for our students to stay connected to their creativity and their peers. There are so many fun classes on our website, through our Virtual Classroom. We will continue to add more content throughout the next couple months, so don’t forget to check in frequently, or better yet, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and you will be notified when new content is posted.
Beginning in July, we will be offering two classes over Zoom! This will allow everyone to connect and social distance at the same time. Our younger artists will enjoy “Creepy Crawlies” with Miss Shirley and older students will turn on their creativity in “Art Journaling” with Shawnacy Kiker Perez. These classes are offered free and registration is open now. In addition, during July and August we will begin filling openings in our Rock Band Program for the fall term. Anyone interested in auditioning for a spot in one of EIAA’s seven rock bands, should contact Heather Wagner heather@eiaaprogram.org to schedule a time.
We are also beginning to navigate our way back to some in-person programming, in a very limited way. We want to make sure that all safety protocols are in place and that we can safely manage some small group opportunities. A larger space, Studio 17, is being donated to us for the next several months. The larger space, at 907 17th Street NE, allows for adequate social distancing that we don’t feel we can provide at the Music and Arts Studios. Rock Band rehearsals will begin at Studio 17 the week of June 15th.
Registration is now open for a 4-week stained glass class, taught by George Madlon, at Studio 17. Class begins on Friday, July 10th. Visit our Adult Classes Page for more information and to register.
Thank you for your continued support and interest in the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy. While we have not been able to see you in person, for what feels like a very long time, we have not stopped thinking about all of you. We can’t wait to move through this initial phase of reopening in the hopes of offering more opportunities for us to be together in the fall. Until then, stay well, try some classes in the Virtual Classroom, check out our Zoom classes and stay in touch.