By Kimberly Pratt and Ellen Jin
1. ColorBox
If you are keen to discover your inner-artist then look no further than Colorbox Creative Arts Center whose ethos centers around enriching lives through art in a creative and supportive environment. Tucked away in one of Shanghai’s alleyways Colorbox offers a range of art classes for budding toddlers to master artists. Depending on the level, classes are one to three hours in duration and cost between RMB250-700 with specific deals available on their website.
// Tues-Sun,10am-6pm, Bldg 20, 1/F, 383 Xiangyang Nan Lu, 徐汇区襄阳路383弄20号，近建国路. For more information call (6267 7002 www.colorboxarts.com)
2. The Expat Learning Center
The Expat Learning Center is located in the heart of one of Shanghai’s buzzing metropolis, and serves as an incubator for creativity and ingenuity through a wide array of artistic mediums. The center offers course options ranging from three-dimensional animation, photography (both intermediate and advanced), to programs for children such as drawing, painting, and fashion design. Enrolment for the Fall season (October 9 to December 17) closes on September 22 and the cost, including tuition and materials is RMB3900.
// 9am-9pm, Shaanxi Bei Lu, by Weihai Lu, 徐汇区康平路152号1号楼，近宛平路，静安区 (www.shanghai-classes.com)
3. Shanghai Flaneur
Flaneur by definition means to wander, without the urge to hurry, to discover and to learn. Incidentally, Shanghai Flaneur uses walking as their methodology to transfer knowledge, stimulate creativity, build local awareness and encourage open-mindedness. The Shanghai Flaneur experts consider themselves a ‘walking think-tank’ with customized walking tours in architecture, history, culture, photography, urbanization and China studies. Snapshot Shanghai walking tour, scheduled for June 22, amalgamates a lesson in photography and touring this modern city. To register for the varying public walks visit www.shanghai-flaneur.com or call +86 21 34 282 101.
4. Sip-N-Paint
Catering for the adult with an inner artistic child, Sip-N-Paint provides a relaxed and social atmosphere to explore and satisfy your creative yearnings through art and wine.
Combining happy hours and art classes Sip-N-Paint runs regular socials, reservations necessary, which cost RMB180-250.
// Open 11am-10pm everyday, 3/F, 368 Shanxi Nan Lu by Fuxing Road, 陕西南路368号3楼，近复兴路 (www.sip-n-paint.com).
5. Paintertainment
This acrylic painting studio offers a relaxed setting to practice DIY handicrafts such as decoupage, ceramic painting, and T-shirt coloring. It also serves as an available venue for private parties, offsite painting events, and other corporate functions. Paintertainment also offers beginner’s acrylic painting as well as beginner’s and children’s creative painting classes for those just discovering their inner artist.
// Tues-Sun, 10am-10pm, 55 Wukang Road, by Anfu Lu Room 202, 武康路55号202室，福安路路口，徐汇区(www.paintertainmentchina.com).
6. Kids Elements
Children wishing to delve into the creative elements of dance, theatre, sculpture, stagecraft, drawing and costume design can do so at Shanghai’s Kids Elements. Offering 12 week courses for children 18 months that cost around 2,100 RMB Kids Elements specialize in creatively fostering the children’s artistic aspirations.
// M-F, 9:45am-5pm, Bldg 5-9, 650 Bi Yun Lu, by Lan An Lu, 碧云路633号碧云体育休闲中心B15－16 (www.kidselements.com)
7. Creative Workshop (创意天地)
Creative Workshop is a place for kids to immerse themselves in messy, creative fun. Using clay, paint, straw, wood and much more participants are given artistic freedom to create a piece of their own. Traditional Chinese crafts are also taught. The workshops offered are in both English and Chinese allowing children from both backgrounds to mingle.
// 12-8pm, 416B Grand Gateway, 1 Hongqiao Lu 虹桥路1号港汇广场416B. (6447 9273, creative-workshop@hotmail.com)
8. Red Town - The Sculpture Space (上海城市雕塑艺术中心)
A circle of mini-easels rings a bright room off Shanghai Sculpture Space, the indoor and outdoor collection of weird and wonderful sculptures in Red Town. Be-smocked children sit behind easels conjuring up spaceships, animals and castles onto paper with pencils and oil pastels. ‘Children are born artists,’ says painter Lei Zhang, who runs the studio. ‘Adults have to learn from them. Good teachers open children’s minds.’
// 10am-4pm daily, Lei Art Studio, Red Town, Bldg 123, 570 HuaiHai Xi Lu, by Hongqiao Lu 淮海西路570号，近定西路, (www.sss570.com)
9. Pippa Studio – Fashion Lessons
Pippa Studio is an inspiring environment to ignite ingenuity in fashion designing within children. Founder, Belen de la Ossa, created Pippa Studio to teach children the foundations of clothing design. The aim of the studio is to encourage children to engage in artistic extracurricular activities and gain a stronger commitment to meeting curricular goals. Classes cater for children interested in a career in fashion design and even those who purely enjoy getting creative. Check out the website for more details on summer classes.
// 9.30am–11.30am, 1.30pm-3.30pm and 4-6pm with tuition estimated at RMB4600 11M, 831 Xinzha Lu, (www.pippastudio.com).
10. Hong Hong Art Institute
Hong Hong Art Institute is a professional, private institute for art education staffed with well-qualified instructors. Their objective is to teach with a more opened way of learning, watching, thinking, and experiencing. Based on different ages (ranging from 6-14), skills, and classroom capacities, the program has designed four different classes to suit each child: basic classes, advanced classes, creative classes, and drawing classes. Hong Hong Art Institute provides a relaxed environment that promotes maximum potential for creative imagination. The program also comes with a free trial for the first class attended.
// 8.30am – 4pm at 570 Huaihai Lu, by Hongqiao Lu 长宁区淮海西路570, 近虹桥路, (www.shhhart.org).
