Artgarage is a free after-school art studio, open to all Housatonic Valley Regional High School students! It is a dynamic, welcoming space where students are encouraged to connect and follow their creative whims without inhibition! With the support and encouragement of local artists serving as mentors, the students are creating impressive displays of creativity. Follow Artgarage @housy.artgarage.

One such display, currently in the works, is using art as the voice of social justice and a means of offering comfort to the people of Ukraine. 

The idea for the Ukraine Envelope Project came to Artgarage mentors Amanda Sears and Delores Coan, when they stumbled upon a heap of donated envelopes. Thinking like true artists, the mentors and students at Artgarage decided to give the forgotten envelopes new life through a community art project! 

Jerome Maury and Aron Ladanyi, student ambassadors for the project, drove the vision and efforts from there, sending envelopes around the school district for students to transform into works of art. Hundreds came back, filled corner-to-corner with unique designs and doodles - and it didn't stop there! Envelopes are still coming in, some even from students in other school districts. 

This project is the product of Jerome and Aron’s empathy and determination. Their contagious passion has students and community members rallying behind the cause!