Community Outreach
Suffolk Art League is committed to bringing a variety of art activities and events to groups of all ages in our Suffolk community at no cost to participants. In addition to our events, we also partner with a variety of organizations to offer workshops and provide free, safe, creative spaces. Select an event below or browse for free workshops and more!
Free Monthly Workshops
|
In partnership with Suffolk Public Library, we provide a monthly free workshop at North Suffolk Library (2000 Bennetts Creek Park Road). Some workshops will be geared for the whole family, while others are more age-specific.
|
|
In partnership with Suffolk's Commonwealth's Attorney's Office of Victim and Witness Services, we provide monthly free workshops and yoga classes at Suffolk Art Gallery. These workshops are open to all ages.
|
|
In partnership with the Genieve Shelter, we offer a free monthly art workshop series, "Art Afternoons", at Suffolk Art Gallery for ages 10 to 18, where we complete an art project and learn about the Do You youth resilience program. Refreshments provided.
|
|
We offer free monthly Teen Art Nights. We have an optional guided art activity, open studio, movies, and more. Participants can work on their own projects, start something new, learn a craft, watch a movie, or just hang out. It's a third space for teens to get together and be creative without any pressure.
|
|
Poetry Prose & PizzaIn partnership with poet Nathan Richardson and Suffolk Parks & Recreation's Suffolk Art Gallery, we are hosting our quarterly open mic for poets, writers, musicians, and more. Not a writer? No problem! Read something you like or just come for good vibes and a free slice! No registration required.
We are maintaining our regular Poetry, Prose, and Pizza schedule but are adding a special twist to celebrate The Odyssey by Homer. The evening will feature excerpts from the Odyssey and include a short writing workshop. This event is free and open to everyone. Additionally, we'll have a toga-themed night with free pizza and refreshments. See you there! |
Scholarships
Each year, the Suffolk Art League offers scholarships for students entering grades 6 - 12 to pursue arts education and exploration. Not a college scholarship, these funds have helped past recipients fund lessons, performances, intensives, materials, program tuitions, instruments, and more in visual, performing, literary, craft, and other art forms. The Sharon Picot and Chip Picot Student Scholarship offers funds for students pursuing a variety of arts, and the John R. Taylor, Jr. Memorial Student Scholarship awards funds to students focused on visual arts. In 2026, over $11,000 was awarded to winning applicants. Applications open each year in January and are due in April. Winners are announced in May, and a recognition ceremony is held during our annual Open Members' Show reception.
Annual Book Donation
Each year we donate one or two art-related books to Suffolk Public Library to make the topics or subjects more accessible to our community.
2025
Joyce J. Scott: Walk A Mile In My Dreams
Frida: Beyond the Myth
|
Joyce J. Scott: Walk A Mile In My Dreams
Joyce J. Scott was a visiting artist at the Chrysler Museum this year. She led workshops, gave a lecture, and performed. Scott is a multidisciplinary artist and performer with an emphasis on beadwork. Frida: Beyond the Myth This is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts catalog from their special exhibit on Frida Kahlo. We also hosted a lecture in partnership with the VMFA by Dr. Jeanette Nicewinter titled Frida Kahlo and Mexican Modernism as part of our Melissa Darden Odom Speaker Series. |
2024
Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club
Hillarey Breedlove with Suffolk Public Library Director, Clint Ruby. July 19, 2023
Suffolk Art League presents its annual book donation to the Suffolk Public Library. The book Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club is a catalog of images from the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Exhibit on display from October 2022 through January 2023.
The Suffolk Art League donates an art-related book or collection of books to enhance the Suffolk Public Library’s Arts and Culture collection. This year, the Suffolk Art League supported the Library and a local art museum by purchasing the selected book, Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club, from the Chrysler Museum shop. This book is a full-color catalog of the exhibit co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club exhibit is a collection of over 125 objects from the Mbari Artists and Writers Club featured in the arts and culture magazine, Black Orpheus which the Mbari Club published from 1957-67. The Mbari Artists and Writers Club was an artistic organization of Nigerian-based artists from all artistic expressions, which promoted modern African and international artistic practices rooted in African culture. The Mbari Club’s publication featured artists from across the globe including American painter, Jacob Lawrence. Jacob Lawrence (b.1917-d.2000) was an American Afrocentric, “Dynamic Cubist” painter who utilized a bright color palette and repeated shapes and patterns that transcended a modern interpretation of everyday life. Lawrence’s illustrative narrative of African American way of life and historical events gained him recognition as a prolific painter and a trailblazer in the art world. Lawrence was one of the first African American artists to have a painting acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1941, during the height of segregation. The exhibit allowed viewers to experience the lesser-known Nigerian Series of paintings by Lawrence from one of his many influential visits to the country during the 1960s.
Our local community had the pleasure of viewing this culturally rich exhibit at the Chrysler Museum last year. The Suffolk Art League found the exhibit catalog an appropriate donation for the expansion of the library’s collection due to the vast cultural richness of African Diasporan artists recording the historical importance of African culture during a poignant time in history across the globe from the American Civil Rights Movement and Nigerian Independence.
The Suffolk Art League donates an art-related book or collection of books to enhance the Suffolk Public Library’s Arts and Culture collection. This year, the Suffolk Art League supported the Library and a local art museum by purchasing the selected book, Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club, from the Chrysler Museum shop. This book is a full-color catalog of the exhibit co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Black Orpheus: Jacob Lawrence and the Mbari Club exhibit is a collection of over 125 objects from the Mbari Artists and Writers Club featured in the arts and culture magazine, Black Orpheus which the Mbari Club published from 1957-67. The Mbari Artists and Writers Club was an artistic organization of Nigerian-based artists from all artistic expressions, which promoted modern African and international artistic practices rooted in African culture. The Mbari Club’s publication featured artists from across the globe including American painter, Jacob Lawrence. Jacob Lawrence (b.1917-d.2000) was an American Afrocentric, “Dynamic Cubist” painter who utilized a bright color palette and repeated shapes and patterns that transcended a modern interpretation of everyday life. Lawrence’s illustrative narrative of African American way of life and historical events gained him recognition as a prolific painter and a trailblazer in the art world. Lawrence was one of the first African American artists to have a painting acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1941, during the height of segregation. The exhibit allowed viewers to experience the lesser-known Nigerian Series of paintings by Lawrence from one of his many influential visits to the country during the 1960s.
Our local community had the pleasure of viewing this culturally rich exhibit at the Chrysler Museum last year. The Suffolk Art League found the exhibit catalog an appropriate donation for the expansion of the library’s collection due to the vast cultural richness of African Diasporan artists recording the historical importance of African culture during a poignant time in history across the globe from the American Civil Rights Movement and Nigerian Independence.