Project ARTstART - Claremont Lewis Museum of Art

Project ARTstART, the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art (CLMA)’s signature arts education program, trains high school students, working with college mentors, to provide exhibition-based art lessons for elementary school students. By bringing high-quality art appreciation classes and activities to Claremont schools, we inspire students, promote understanding of the arts, and highlight Claremont’s rich artistic legacy.

Launched in the fall of 2011, Project ARTstART serves 100 high school students (ARTstARTers) who are trained to teach art lessons to elementary students. They learn to design lessons inspired by exhibitions at CLMA and local art history, which they teach to upper graders at all seven public elementary schools in Claremont. ARTstARTers also serve approximately 125 students a month with our AfterARTs series, which brings free art-making workshops to after-school programs. Project ARTstART is produced solely by the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art in partnership with the Claremont Unified School District.

The program is funded by generous donations from the Ruth & Joseph C. Reed Foundation for the Arts; City of Claremont (Community-Based Organizations Grant); Claremont Sunrise Rotary; Claremont Kiwanis Foundation; Rotary Club of Claremont; Scripps Fine Arts Foundation; as well as CLMA Board members and many dedicated community donors.

Partner programming for 2025-26 was provided by American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA); Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College; California Botanic Garden; Claremont Heritage; dA Center for the Arts; Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College; and the Susan Sontag Center for Creative Collaboration ‘The HIVE’ at Pomona College.

ARTstART Offers Art Activities on YouTube

Teams of high school students in CLMA’s Project ARTstART have prepared a series of simple do-at-home art projects to present to elementary students in Claremont schools. These fun 5-minute videos are now available to everyone on the Claremont Museum of Art YouTube channel.

Futures in Flight https://youtu.be/Ihjtksls6k4

Layered Collage Project https://youtu.be/ysKtSQnoY6c

Saar Collage https://youtu.be/WoKCQHNO6sg

Pattern Portraits https://youtu.be/jjul1yCtPFo

Art with Music https://youtu.be/OIg9StKZQcs

Garden Collage https://youtu.be/CBscXS4esTk

Positive Character Trait Silhouettes https://youtu.be/WPBF2Q0sf6E