In 2022, THE PLAYGROUNDgr partnered with Caribbean Artist, Erick Picardo in leading over 50 children and their families in painting their portrait. During this workshop, children and their families were led in play, connection and new strategies for attachment.
Each attendee took home a canvas of themselves, and during participated in a dessert and hot coco bar, art kit giveaways and one on one coaching from Picardo following the group lesson.
THE PLAYGROUNDgr is committed to providing art and play to our community each December.
In 2023, THE PLAYGROUNDgr partnered with local artist Edwin Anderson. THE PLAYGROUNDgr is grateful to the sponsorship of Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cakabakery and the Grand Rapids Art Museum for ensuring that fifty members of our community had access to voice and share themselves, as a caricature of a super hero. Each member enjoyed teaching from a celebrated artist, cookies, hot coco and time together.
In addition to a take home portrait piece, each member also had the opportunity to use clay as a sensory tool, in our low sensory space. At THE PLAYGROUNDgr we continue to strive to be an inclusive space, that mirrors our community and play experts in our community. We are thrilled to be bringing this event back for its third year on January 2, 2025.
Details and sign up coming soon
Edwin Anderson was our featured artist for Portrait of Me; Painting and Play:
Hello, I am Edwin Anderson a local artist and entrepreneur with aspirations to help build our art community with other great artists here in the city. I create large-scale murals, commission paintings, branding, and marketing development. I enjoy networking and meeting new people. I like to play sports like basketball, softball, running track, and soccer! My favorite foods are gourmet noodles, spaghetti, chicken chili, and chicken wings! In the future, I look forward to contributing to the growth of my hometown, Grand Rapids as an inspiring artist and a community advocate for creating art and culture that brings peace and unity to our community.