{"id":4044,"date":"2021-03-08T18:03:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T23:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/windhover.ncsu.edu\/?page_id=4044"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:54:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:54:49","slug":"free-arts-enrichment-ncstate","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/orgs.ncsu.edu\/windhover\/subvolo\/free-arts-enrichment-ncstate\/","title":{"rendered":"Free, virtual Arts Enrichment for Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writer Neha Suresh reviews some free classes currently offered at the NC State Craft Center while exploring how the center has overcome adversity due to COVID-19.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

by.\u00a0Neha Suresh<\/span><\/p>\n

Arts NC State is the umbrella department that supports and oversees all of the arts departments at NC State. These departments include the Crafts Center, the Dance Program, the Gregg Museum of Art & Design, the Department of Music, NC State LIVE and University Theater.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Crafts Center, in particular, describes its <\/span>mission<\/span><\/a> as \u2018<\/span>providing hands-on, immersive, life-long learning skills to NC State students, faculty and staff, affiliates, alumni and the general public to support research, enhance critical thinking through creativity, and strengthen personal and professional development.<\/span><\/i>\u2019 Their ultimate aim is to enhance the student experience through self-expression and academic collaboration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a writer, the best part of an interview is hearing a well-articulated thought or quotable line. My favorite thing about this series of interviews is the passion and enthusiasm every representative of the Crafts Center had when sharing what they made, or explaining what they teach. This department has been subject to budget cuts <\/span>since before the pandemic <\/span><\/a>and the situation has just made it worse, but they are continuing to overcome despite unfavorable circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jennifer Siegel is the Clay Studio manager at the Crafts Center at NC State University. She reflects on how the pandemic has affected the Crafts Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCOVID did prompt us to start digital options. We also did a trial run for opening an in-person class this semester. Online classes were definitely a savior for the existence of the Crafts Center especially in Summer 2020,\u201d Siegel said. \u201cBeing in a position to open with limited capacity is what kept some of the studios afloat.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Crafts Center is student-funded and not revenue-based, whatever funding they bring in usually determines what the center is in a position to do that fiscal year. The online classes have helped keep the crafts center afloat while receiving positive engagement and feedback from students and staff alike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Katy Walls is a studio technician at the Crafts Center and one of the founding members of the Arts Village.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a digital- online evaluation form for each of our online classes. But by far, the response has been emphatically positive,\u201d Walls said. \u201cThere are a total of about 37 online crafts classes this semester, some of which have already started.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The classes the center offered usually included woodwork, pottery, photography, fiber art, jewelry making and more. In lieu of the new restrictions, they have designed virtual stressbuster courses that people can take from home as beginners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Introduction to Music Theory\u00a0<\/b><\/h6>\n