Not every child grows up with access to art classes or creative mentorship, and one of St. Pete’s most treasured arts hubs has been on a mission to connect local youth to the arts. Florida CraftArt launched its Youth Arts Program in 2024, and in just two years, it has already become one of the most impactful arts programs in town.
Through conversations with community partners, they found that many youth-serving organizations saw the benefits of arts education but faced challenges providing consistent creative programming due to limited staff and resources. Florida CraftArt works alongside several of these organizations to bring hands-on youth art programming to the community. Support this impactful program here.
Pairing local nonprofits and community-facing programs with an organization like Florida CraftArt has resulted in a growing world of local art that is helping youth unlock their creativity. This is a look at how those partnerships are shaping St. Pete.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
One of Florida CraftArt’s key partners is Big Brothers Big Sisters, which already focuses on building strong, supportive mentor-mentee relationships. Collaboratively they’ve designed a program that offers Bigs and Littles a chance to share meaningful creative experiences.
Each session begins with a guided tour through Florida CraftArt’s galleries. Littles are encouraged to observe, interpret, and talk about the artwork before heading to the Creative Loft classroom. There, Bigs and Littles share a meal and sit side-by-side to create artwork inspired by one another. Using colorful paper, textures, and mixed media materials, they build pieces that reflect the qualities they see and appreciate in the other.
The experience ends with an exchange of finished artwork between mentor and mentee. These are wholesome moments of positive affirmation. What had began as a creative afternoon becomes a tangible symbol of trust, encouragement, and connection.
Academy Prep Center
Florida CraftArt’s partnership with Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg grew out of conversations about strengthening and expanding the school’s existing art curriculum. Working with the art teacher, the team identified a strong student interest in fiber arts and an opportunity to connect creative learning with African American heritage.
This led to a collaboration with Dr. Genevieve Hill Thomas, a Ringling College professor specializing in African textiles. Together, they introduced a curriculum centered on crochet, a fiber technique rooted in African textile traditions and reflected in the work of contemporary artists of color.
This collaboration began as a single semester pilot, and is now flourishing into its fifth semester. Twice weekly, semester-long sessions allow students to hone their craft and discover an outlet for creativity and self expression they may have not otherwise realized.
Ronald McDonald House
The Ronald McDonald House Charities collaboration brings hands-on art experiences directly to families staying at the House. These offer moments of emotional relief and gentle pauses from the demands of a child’s medical care.
Sessions invite parents, siblings, and caregivers to sit side-by-side and create together in a calm, supportive environment. For families caring for a seriously ill child, these moments offer a rare chance to pause, focus on something simple, and make something meaningful as a group.
What started as a once-a-month visit has grown into twice-monthly sessions due to the program’s impact, and the heartfelt response from families and staff.
The Heart Gallery
Florida CraftArt’s partnership with the Heart Gallery launched during a period of transition. After changes in regulation prevented the use of professional portraits of children in its program, an important storytelling tool was lost.
Together, the organizations reimagined a new way for youth to be seen and celebrated through their own artwork and voices.
Each month, Heart Gallery youth visit Florida CraftArt for an after-hours experience that includes a guided gallery tour, conversation about art and identity, and time in the Creative Loft to create original artwork with support from a teaching artist.
Each participant leaves with a finished piece that is shared at events and online across the Tampa Bay area, offering new ways to connect with their stories and increasing visibility and hope for a permanent family.
Police Athletic League
The Police Athletic League of St. Petersburg and Florida CraftArt started their work together with conversations centered around literacy, mentorship, and building confidence in young people.
Together, they created a program blending reading, storytelling, and hands-on art through a collaborative quilt project inspired by the tradition of quilts as storytellers. Students explored how quilts preserve memories and culture, then designed their own quilt squares based on their lives and experiences.
Working alongside the Suncoast Quilting Circle, students assembled a community quilt now displayed at PAL as a symbol of creativity and collaboration. The program has been so well received that it has already been invited back for the summer.
Bridging gaps through art
Together, these partnerships reflect Florida CraftArt’s broader approach to youth programming: using art as a consistent, accessible tool for connection, learning, and engagement across different community spaces.
Each program is shaped by the needs of its partners. But all share the same outcome: bridging the gaps that partners face in order to offer youth opportunities to create, express themselves, and connect more deeply with their communities.
For more information about the program and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Liz Cooper at Liz@FloridaCraftArt.org or 727-821-7391.