City Center Art is Space One Eleven’s afterschool studio art program for students of all skill levels and is designed to build visual communication skills and foster creative thinking. Through individually conceived projects and collaborations, young artists learn the elements of art and principles of design, strengthen foundation skills, and further their understanding of art criticism, art theory, and art history.

Grades 2-3: Tuesday, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Grades 4-5: Monday, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Grades 6-8: Wednesday, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Grades 9-12: Saturday, 10:00am - 1:00pm

On view in the First Floor Gallery, "Art on the Inside" features works in an array of media, including watercolor, pencil, pastel, mixed-media collage, and handmade paper. The largest work in the show is an eye-catching collaboration among APAEP artists, nationally renowned artist Tameca Cole, and New Orleans-based Brendon Palmer-Angell. The present exhibition marks the unveiling of the mural, which is titled "Can You See You?".

Based at Auburn University, the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project works to create spaces where currently and formerly incarcerated individuals can practice meaningful engagement with the arts and develop their own artistic voices. Founded with the knowledge that creativity is an essential trait of humanity, the program has grown from one poet teaching one class in one facility to hundreds of classes that have reached thousands of students at over 12 facilities. This exhibition is made possible by a grant awarded to the Friends Foundation of BPL by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Calling all young artists! Meet Birmingham-based artists Ian Skinner and Ajene Williams in ArtVenture, our interactive space for families, to learn about their metal arts work at Sloss Furnaces. From 10 to 10:45am, young artists can meet Ian and Ajene, hear about how they became artists, and make a craft together. At 10:45am, families can explore pewter casting in the BMA studios. This special studio experience will be limited to 25 people.

Create Birmingham, in partnership with the Jefferson County Memorial Project, Bib & Tucker Sew-Op, The Black Cherry Tree Project, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute will manage The Jefferson County Memorial Quilt Project. A community-based initiative, this project seeks to reckon with central Alabama’s haunting history of racial violence and propel racial reconciliation through the co-construction of a Jefferson County Memorial Quilt, which will be created in honor of the 33 African-Americans who were lynched in Jefferson County from the mid-19th through the mid-20th century.

The Workshops

Aiming to foster productive dialogue around race, justice, and community unity, this project will host six free, public sewing workshops in communities across Jefferson County, during which participants will create individual squares of what will become the Jefferson County Memorial Quilt. Participants will be provided with sewing kits and instruction from Bib & Tucker Sew-Op, while educational programming surrounding the nature and importance of this history and the project will be led by The Black Cherry Tree Project during a portion of each workshop. Each individual square as well as educational programming for the workshops will be designed using research provided by the Jefferson County Memorial Project from their Victim Archives. In addition to developing educational material, JCMP will produce a visual manual for participants that will include partner information, quilting instructions, historical references, and drop-off locations for finished squares.

What to Expect

Each sewing workshop is two hours long, and participants should prepare to stay the entire time. The sessions will be facilitated collaboratively by Jefferson County Memorial Project, The Black Cherry Tree Project, and Bib & Tucker Sew-Op. At the beginning of each workshop, participants will receive a brief introduction to the project and an overview of the history and ramifications of lynching in Jefferson County by JCMP and TBCTP. Following the introduction, participants will sew their quilt blocks, which will be led by Bib & Tucker Sew-Op. Sewists will have the option to stitch a stenciled block or to create their own design using scrap fabric, embroidery floss. fabric markers, and sewing notions. All materials will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own. At the end of each workshop, participants can turn in their completed block, or take it home to finish.

This workshop will be facilitated by Sonya Muhammad and Carey Fountain.

This workshop will demonstrate assembling and stitching an exposed spine binding with double needle Coptic and/or Butterfly double needle stitch and the striking and dramatic centerpiece stitch, the Caterpillar stitch. We will construct a book with an exposed spine, but this technique can easily be applied to case-bound books or boxes as well. Participants will make covers, fold and pierce signatures, then sew the cover and paper together, first with a stabilizing stitch (Coptic or Butterfly stitch) and then with caterpillar stitch. This technique can showcase threads as well as cover papers and lends itself to additional embellishments. As well, these books lay flat when open, making them excellent sketchbooks or journals. (Rene will demonstrate stitches and students may make one or two journals, depending on time.) TOOLS (Please bring a ruler, scissors, knife, cutting mat, bone folder, glue brush, and awl.) Ruler Knife (I like a utility knife with a snap-off blade so that I can keep it sharp) Cutting Mat Scissors Pencil Glue brush for application Bone folder Awl 2 sewing needles (This is a double needle stitch, so we will use both needles at the same time. I will supply curved needles.) SUPPLIES Paper Paper for signatures (anything from copier paper to watercolor paper will work well, depending on how you want to use your book. I will supply paper to make a sketchbook.) Decorative paper or bookcloth to cover the boards (Note: a plainer paper may help showcase the stitching more clearly than a heavily patterned one. I will provide papers, but if you wish to bring some of your own, please do!) Another decorative paper for endpapers, to be applied either before or after stitching (I will provide some, but please bring your own if you wish) Board for covers PVA glue Beeswax Thread: waxed linen is traditional and sturdiest, but other threads also work for this stitch. Perle cotton thread, for example, comes in many colors and takes wax well. I do not recommend embroidery floss when learning this stitch, as it splits easily. I will provide waxed linen.

Get ready for a whimsical journey into the pages of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?" where your favorite storybook characters come to life onstage! Eight year old Herb never imagined the dangers when he decided to scribble on and cut up his book of fairy tales.

But then Herb never imagined he'd fall into the book one night either! After contending with a petulant Goldilocks, a very angry wicked stepmother, and a disappointed Cinderella, all Herb wants to do is find his way off the page. If only he can escape the book, he can make everything happily ever after again… sort of.

Don't miss this World Premiere production that celebrates the magic of storytelling!

Get ready for a whimsical journey into the pages of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?" where your favorite storybook characters come to life onstage! Eight year old Herb never imagined the dangers when he decided to scribble on and cut up his book of fairy tales.

But then Herb never imagined he'd fall into the book one night either! After contending with a petulant Goldilocks, a very angry wicked stepmother, and a disappointed Cinderella, all Herb wants to do is find his way off the page. If only he can escape the book, he can make everything happily ever after again… sort of.

Don't miss this World Premiere production that celebrates the magic of storytelling!

Parthenope, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters.

From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino comes a monumental and deeply romantic story of a lifetime.