Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts

🎒 📖 🖌️ Bring art into classrooms across Boston! Through YOUR support, BPS students gain access to creative opportunities they might not otherwise have access to. We need your help to reach our match goal of $75,000, unlocking another $75,000 from a group of generous donors!

Follow this link to expand arts accessibility: https://donorbox.org/350-fund-the-future

Photos by Eliot School staff

🔥📦🔥 Matchbox Art Workshop
Instructor: Amy Hitchcock Assemblage and Collage
Dates: Sunday, June 28 or Sunday, August 2
Time: 2-6 PM

Transform ordinary matchboxes into miniature worlds using collage, paint, texture, and imagination. Whether you’re drawn to tiny narratives, playful compositions, or just love making things with your hands, this workshop is the perfect bite-sized creative adventure!

Follow this link to learn more and sign up for either session of this wonderful workshop today: https://eliotschool.org/classes?instructor=14933

Photos by Amy Hitchcock

💻📷 Are you an aspiring portrait photographer, a wildlife enthusiast, or just interested in photography? Learn how to navigate Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, from importing and organizing RAW photo files to editing exposure, color, and white balance.

Class: Intro to Photo Editing
Instructor: Elizabeth Hopkins
Dates: June 13–14 & August 1–2
Times: 12-3 PM & 3-6 PM

Follow this link to learn more and sign up for one of the sessions of this new and useful two-day workshop: https://eliotschool.org/classes?instructor=17701&keyword=editing

🪚 🎨 🧵 Creativity doesn’t have an age limit, and neither does your impact! From first-time makers to seasoned artists, adults find community and growth at the Eliot School.

Follow this link to keep lifelong learning alive: https://donorbox.org/350-fund-the-future

Generous donors will match up to $75,000, and YOU can get us to this major match point!

Photos by Craig Bailey Perspective Photo and Eliot School staff

☀️ Make room for creativity in your young artist’s summer ☀️ Summer is almost here, and if you’re still looking for a meaningful, hands-on activity, we would suggest snagging one of the few remaining spots in our Summer Program for Children.

From June 29–August 14, kids ages 6–12 will explore visual arts, woodworking, fiber arts, and mixed media in a safe and supportive studio environment. Each week is filled with creativity, exploration, and skill-building that your child will carry with them for a long time to come.

Follow this link to sign your student up today: https://eliotschool.org/summer-program-for-children

Photos by Craig Bailey Perspective Photo

In 1831, our Schoolhouse on Eliot Street was built to house primary classes on the first floor and grammar classes on the second floor. In 1842, we founded Eliot High School and by 1858 the school had moved out of the Schoolhouse to Village Hall, which stood where the parking lot behind Blanchards Liquor Store is now. At that point, the Schoolhouse was leased to the town, which used it as a primary school. Eliot High School later moved to a new building on Elm Street in 1868.

When the area (at the time West Roxbury) was annexed to the City of Boston in 1874, the Eliot School Trustees relinquished Eliot High School to Boston Public School and moved back to the Schoolhouse to begin our manual arts program. By the early 1890s, we had fully transitioned from standard academics to craft education. With that transition came growth and in the 1890s, our copper-clad cupola, front entrance, and rear storage space were added.

Throughout the 20th Century, plans to expand the Schoolhouse were considered, but never to fruition. The earliest of these came in the 1910s when plans are drawn to add classrooms in the attic, and the most recent in the 2010s when a much larger addition was discussed.

By 2014 we had outgrown the small administrative space at the Schoolhouse, so we rented additional office space at 891 Centre Street, before moving those offices to our current Annex location at 253 Amory Street. Two years later, we expanded our office space at 253 Amory Street and added our first accessible classroom on the first floor of the building.

Over 350 years, The Eliot School has gone through many transformations. But for the past 195 years, our Schoolhouse has stood at 24 Eliot Street, providing a solid foundation for our organization and the Jamaica Plain community at large.

Do you have historical photos or memories of the Eliot School you'd like to share? We'd love to see and hear them! Email them to [email protected].

🦸✏️ Let your young artist’s creativity fly free in the colorful world of visual storytelling with our two upcoming cartooning classes!

Class: Kids Intro to Cartooning (Ages 6-8)
Instructor: Deanna Soukiasian
Dates: Saturday, May 30–Sunday, May 31
Time: 2-5 PM
This workshop will introduce your young artist to the various ways you can tell a story through pictures, preparing them to create an illustrated comic cover and at least one complete comic strip.

Class: Kids Comic Zines (Ages 9-12)
Instructor: Deanna Soukiasian
Dates: Saturday, June 6–Sunday, June 7
Time: 2-5 PM
This workshop explores different genres of comics and storytelling, what the comics process looks like, and how to make art that speaks to your uniquely creative kid. They’ll create a one-page comic with a cover and a zine.

Follow this link to learn more and sign your young artist up for either of these wonderful weekend workshops today: https://eliotschool.org/classes?instructor=16939

Photos by Craig Bailey Perspective Photo

It’s Monday! This month, we're sharing some stunning cutting boards created by our Teen Bridge artists. Teen Bridge is our year-round, multi-year program for Boston teens that combines visual arts and woodworking education and experience with life skills, mentorship, job training, and employment.

We had a larger cohort of teens for the 2025-2026 school year than ever before, and we hope this amazing program just keeps growing! Learn more about Teen Bridge here: https://eliotschool.org/programs/teen-bridge

If you know a teen who is interested in dipping their toe into art, we have a few workshops and one woodworking class this summer that allow teens to participate along with adults. Check them out here: https://eliotschool.org/classes?field_age_group_tid=264

Have you, your teen, or your child ever made something cool with us? Share it with and tag School of Fine & Applied Arts for a chance to be featured next month!



The Eliot School Artist in Residence and Teen Bridge Programs are funded in part by Mass Cultural Council's YouthReach program, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts, BPS Arts Expansion Fund at EdVestors, and City of Boston Office of Youth Employment & Opportunity SuccessLink Employment Program; and the Linde Family Foundation.

💥 Ignite the spark of creativity for young artists! Kids at the Eliot School explore, imagine, and build confidence thanks to donors like YOU. Generous donors will match up to $75,000, doubling your impact!

Follow this link to keep these experiences within reach for every child: https://donorbox.org/350-fund-the-future

Photos by Craig Bailey Perspective Photo

Papermaking/Book Art Sampler 📜 📚
Instructor: Hayden Maltese
Date: Sunday, May 31
Time: 10:00 AM-2:30 PM

Explore the foundations of both book arts and handmade paper in this new workshop. I just one day, you’ll go from pulp to paper to a simple bound book, with enough time to experiment, play, and exercise your creativity along the way. You’ll leave with a collection of your own handmade pages and new ideas for future projects!

Follow this link to learn more and sign up for this unique, NEW workshop today: https://eliotschool.org/classes/papermakingbook-art-sampler-1m26

Art by Hayden Maltese