With support from the California Arts Council, Armory Center for the Arts will continue an artist residency program at the Pasadena Community Job Center. The Job Center connects employers with skilled day laborers, ensuring fair wages, dignity, and good working conditions. Artists Michelle Rose Glass and Myisha Arellano, in concert with Armory Teaching Artists, will build upon eighteen months of trust working with the Job Center community. At the Job Center’s request, we will provide bi-monthly, relevant, drop-in art-making experiences at the Center’s weekly food distribution site, which serves 150 families weekly. This process will culminate with a final collaborative project and presentation during Pasadena’s art walk in Fall 2024. This proposal exemplifies our post-pandemic mandate of ensuring equitable access to art for everyone by meeting people where they are.
The Armory is one of the only organizations in the San Gabriel Valley to offer free arts programming year-round. Our programs enhance social-emotional wellness, provide a powerful vehicle for self-expression, unite communities, and help inspire creative career pathways for youth:
Off-Site Programs: Year-round free programming to historically underserved children, teens, older adults, families, system-impacted youth, and unsheltered individuals.
School-Based Programs: Cross-curricular instruction to students in Title I classrooms in Pasadena that merge visual arts with core curriculum, including math and environmental sciences.
On-Site Studio Programs: Tuition-based arts classes for children, teens, and adults, designed and taught by Armory Teaching Artists at our main facility.
Contemporary Art Exhibitions: Rigorously researched and professionally presented exhibitions, screenings, performances, publications, lectures, and panels. Admission is always free.

