Cameron June 25th, 2008
Ballard has opulent resources and programs for the creative arts, even for little brats. That’s right, brats. B.R.A.T., Ballard Resource For Artistic Talent, is a local program specifically geared for art-curious kids, 8-18 years old. BRAT creator, Jason Arne Lien, MFA and long-time educator in the Seattle art community, provides coaching for kids for both drop in studio sessions and week long camps (9-4pm) this summer. Lien considers the best way to foster a young person’s blossoming creative mind is to challenge them by “letting them do their own thing but also working closely with each artist to help them decide what is really important.”
Drop-in sessions are moderately priced but the summer camps are the best bargain. So if you have a brat whose interested in advancing their artistic skill set or preparing a portfolio for college– or if you’re just interested in keeping them out of JUV Hall– BRAT is a positive and productive environment in which to creatively develop.
Unfortunately, BRAT is leaving Market Street in September in search of a bigger space, but you can still catch the camps all this summer. Check out www.BratPrograms.com.
(photo from BratPrograms.com)
Cameron June 20th, 2008
In my last article, Make Room For Some Fashion, not everyone agreed that Dolce Vita, the newest clothing boutique to hit Ballard Avenue, actually “fits in”; that’s fine. But believe this—the New York Fashion Academy is bonafide Ballard.
I first learned about the school when a distant friend of mine, who works as an assistant to a real estate entrepreneur, mentioned that his boss was trying to purchase a 100-year-old historic building on the corner of Ballard Ave and 24th to turn it into who-knows-what. The investor apparently met some resistance by the current host of the building—the New York Fashion Academy. When I learned that a) an independent fashion school exists in Seattle and b) its owner is a badass and won’t be pushed outta Ballard, I was intrigued.
Since it’s inception in 1979, the New York Fashion Academy is the only independent fashion school in the Pacific Northwest. Right now, certifiable education in fashion is dominated by cookie cutter, corporate-owned universities: Art Institutes, International Academy of Design and other universities that advertise on non-primetime TV. The parent company of the Art Institutes, Education Management Corporation (www.edmc.com) is the most prevalent provider of private education in North America, with student enrollment at about 70,000 a year. EDMC has 67 primary campus locations in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. So for students seeking an education in couture fashion and textiles without …
