Steam Exchange Community Arts Center

Smoketown free afterschool & summer programs - Steam Exchange provides free, safe, structured afterschool and summer programs for smoketown youth ages 7-21. We recruit youth not already involved in out-of-school activities, employ neighborhood youth, ages 14-21, as student interns who help in all aspects of program facilitation & maintaining our Center. Interns gain responsibility and leadership opportunities, train to produce professional quality screen printed products, assist in grant writing and grantideation, and help prepare materials and teach classes. Over the years,stex has taught classes in Steam, screen printing, bookbinding, painting, textiles, stop motion, computer programming, sculpture and more. We facilitate camps, host internships each summer. Classes change yearly based on youth interests and needs. Organizational partnerships greatly enhance our program. Steam adventrues(with jefferson memorial forest) takes bi-weekly field trips to the forest for hikes, rock climbing, and wildlife study as well as a week-long summer camp. Rhythm science sound partners to lead workshops in deejaying, music mixing and recording. Fashion designer, kara mason, helps teach our students how to tackle complicated fashion projects teaching design, pattern making, and sewing. Girl scouts of kentuckiana provides the funding for each of our girls to be girl scouts and funds a large portion of their summer camp experiences. Crafting the future provides art intensive opportunities for our older youth and young adults. The trager family jcc gives us a discount for our students to attend summer camp there and give stex access to their swimming factilites.

Community wide programs & services - Steam exhcange engages Community members across kentuckiana in artmaking through workshops, events and Community and commerical screen printing. We teach single workshops and multi-week workshop series exploring a variety of media, including classes in Steam, screen printing, bookbinding, painting, textiles, stop motion, computer programming, sculpture and more. We facilitate on-site screen printing for Community events, schools, organizations, businesses or personal events where participants screen print their own posters, t- shirts, or tote bags. Our Community and commercial screen printing shop provides and opportunity for the greater louisville Community to utilize Steam Exchange's screen printing equipment and expretise. Our shop has been utilized by a variety of people, from individuals creating their own clothing lines, to bands, to small businesses. Individuals, businesses and organizations may also hire Steam Exchange for commercial screen printing; we screen print apparel, totes, posters, and yard signs. All profit from commerical screen printing jobs goes toward funding our smoketown free afterschool and summer programs. Porgram graduates and student interns assist in all aspects of the functioning and maintenance of the Community and commerical screen printing shop.