PORTSMOUTH— The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center (SOMACC) continues to grow past its regularly scheduled business hours to offer art opportunities for the community through special events each month. One of the next key events in their historic venue is their Make and Take It series, which continues May 2.

“Our Make and Take event is an opportunity for families, children, and community members to create an enjoyable, easy-to-make art project together, for free, during extended evening hours,” Museum Educator Heidi Bender Kauffman said. “Make and Take events took place at the museum in 2023, pausing due to a staffing change. We are re instituting this event in 2024, and plan on Make and Take being a fixture in our educational programming for years to come.”

The group brought the event back with a force in February and Bender Kauffman says the event is a great way to engage the whole family in the arts. It is also a great opportunity for friends to bond and relax.

“The Make It Take It events have been well received so far,” Bender Kauffman said. “While we thought that our primary audience would be families with children, we found that there was also a need to provide regular creative outlets for adults. Along with our early crowd of families and children, we see couples coming in on dates, people coming in after work to wind down, and people coming by themselves to find community. Make It, Take it is always free, always fun, and always has room for those who need more art in their lives.”

The event provides exposure to the arts, both through crafting and by viewing what is on display.

“May’s Make It, Take It will provide opportunities to make beautiful tropical birds using paper and paint. We have creative projects available for both beginning and advanced artists,” Bender Kauffman said. “The beginning-level projects are modern-looking toucans and parrots that perch on rods that artists can carry home. The advanced project uses geometric shapes and painted patterns to create more intricate plumage for their finely feathered subjects.”

Make It, Take It projects are designed to take between 20 minutes and one hour, although, SOMACC explained that people are welcome to stay longer.

“Our program is constructed so that people on the go can still find time to tap into their creativity, visit our galleries, and to create art with people they love,” Bender Kauffman said.

The May Make It, Take It will take place on May 2 from 4-7 p.m.

Make and Take will be held on every first Thursday of the month, outside of July. Staff will be welcoming guests between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m. Dates for the events are May 2, June 6, July 11, August 1, September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5.

The museum has many permanent collections to check out, from the Art of the Ancients: Wertz Collection to the Clarence Holbrook Carter Collection and more. SOMACC also has a constantly rotating gallery of new exhibitions, a local arts gift shop, and a season of planned events featuring poetry, music, art crawls, and networking. The organization is currently planning its first major expansion in decades with a development to expand their footprint in the coming years.

For more information on SOMACC activities, a museum employee may be contacted by telephone at 740.354.5629 during their regular business hours of Tuesday through Friday, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Saturday, between 1 and 5 p.m. Information may also be found online at www.somacc.com. The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center is at 825 Gallia Street. A handicap accessible entrance may be found on the Sixth Street side of the building.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.