ASIAN AMERICAN ARTS CENTRE ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST FOR CHILDREN'S AFTER SCHOOL ART CLASSES

The Asian American Arts Centre (AAAC) is offering five scholarships for its 15-week spring semester of after-school classes for children ages 6-14. The 2011 Art Class Scholarship Contest winner will be determined by an Artistic Aptitude Evaluation, which will be given January 24 at 4pm and January 25 at 4pm and 5:30pm. The winners will be announced at AAAC's Open House event on February 1 from 4-7pm, which the public is invited to attend.

The Asian American Arts Centre is located at 111 Norfolk Street near Delancey Street in Lower Manhattan. For more information on the scholarships and how to register for the Artistic Aptitude Evaluation, visit www.artspiral.org//new.html or call 212-233-2154.

A 15-week spring semester of classes for children ages 6-14 will begin February 8. Registration is open every Friday from 10:30am-5pm at the center. Tuition is $235 and includes all supplies. The full semester runs from February 8 through June 7.

AAAC art classes will focus on creativity. Programs are designed to stimulate children's creativity and capacity to explore their own artistic originality and cultural background. The goal is to simulate and develop each child's creative instincts, reinforcing and encouraging them. As this develops in the security of the classroom, a child's sense of self can grow. This self-recognition of themselves in the artworks they create can evolve into a self-confidence that can transfer to other academic subjects. Children are introduced to the language of visual forms as well as those of Asian art forms. To learn more, visit www.artspiral.org.