The Ato Project employs art as yet another tool to combat social isolation and stress through a series of art workshops designed to encourage community while processing the social and emotional impacts of living with cancer. The Ato Project provides space for relaxation and interpersonal engagement during and after cancer treatment.
The 2025 Fall Art Project is Mosaic
This 6-week series starts Tuesday, October 7, 2025 and will be held virtually every Tuesday over Zoom from 6:30-7:30 PM.
Sessions are first come first serve. Limited to 15 participants.
Join us as we learn new skills, get creative, learn something new, and create something beautiful over the course of 6 weeks in this art workshop led by a MICA fellow.
No experience is necessary, and everyone is welcome! Materials and supplies will be sent to each participant before the start of the program.
GET TO KNOW YOUR TEACHER
Meet Nia!
Nia Celeste is an interdisciplinary collage artist and Baltimore native whose practice bridges photography, creative writing, film, and abstraction. Through an intuitive and layered approach, she uses these mediums as tools of introspection—investigating selfhood, faith, and the human experience. Guided by inquiry, mood, and process, she uses a reggio-emilia approach and popular culture to collage narratives and mediums to express collective truths.
With a B.A. in Studio Art and a Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland, College Park, Nia is currently pursuing an MFA in Community Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art. As a community artist, she integrates creative arts and entrepreneurial mindsets in her facilitation work to fostering hope in Baltimore and beyond. Celeste spent two years as a Americorp and MICA Community Art Collaborative member at Baltimore Youth Arts. She is currently a second year France Merrick Fellow at No Boundaries Youth Organizers and ATO fellow with Ulman Foundation.
Got questions? We’ve got answers!
Not exactly. These workshops are designed to allow free flowing, organic responses. We want you to embrace your unique creative voice, whatever that looks like. While in many cases, a prompt or loose suggestion may be provided (at the discretion of the instructor), oftentimes the way each project takes shape will be almost entirely up to the participants. Just come with an open mind and heart and a willingness to try something new!
While we believe that everyone is an artist, this program does not require any previous experience or training. Instructors will provide technical guidance as needed, but otherwise, think of this as a safe and supportive space to experiment, invent, or perhaps learn something new. No expertise required!
This may be subject to change depending upon instructor’s areas of expertise, supply availability, and other factors, but you can expect to work with a wide variety of mediums as this is a multidisciplinary program. In the past, workshops have included painting, collage, and mosaics. Sometimes participants even got creative with materials they had on hand and added additional elements to their pieces. As far as themes go, this again may be subject to change, but historically this program has been akin to a group art therapy space: a community where participants can come together and use art as a means of storytelling and release in an easygoing and supportive environment.
Historically, the facilitator of this program has been a community art fellow selected from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Send an email to Megan at [email protected]. Zoom invitations will be sent out and all interested parties should register in advance, indicating their addresses and number of participants in their party at that time. A Zoom link will be sent out on the night of each event.
Nope, we’ve got you covered! Materials will be sent to your home prior to the first night of the session. Please let us know as soon as possible if materials were not delivered or need to be replenished at any point throughout the session.
Historically, each session lasts about five weeks, meaning there are five events per session. While this program has been designed to accommodate a number of lifestyles and needs utilizing a “drop in” model (come to as many or as little of the session events as you like), we strongly encourage you to attend all session events if you are able for the full experience.
Please plan accordingly and arrive on time with your materials ready to go. That said, we know and respect the fact that life happens. In the event that you cannot make a session event or need to pull out of the session entirely, please contact us as soon as possible to let us know.
Yes! However, priority will be given to those on the waitlist for subsequent sessions.
Our stamp and sticker 5 week session starts on October 1st and occurs every Tuesday from 7:00 – 8:00 PM.
Our pour painting 5 week session starts on November 12th and occurs every Tuesday from 6:30 – 7:30 PM
The Ato Project Gallery
The program was created to honor the legacy of Kelly Scruggs, a gifted Baltimore artist who passed away in 2019. Kelly inspired many through her craft and even spent some time studying and creating art in Japan – a special place of significance for her. In an effort to extend the joy and healing of art to others experiencing their own journeys with cancer, Kelly’s family worked with the Ulman Foundation and the Maryland Institute College of Art to create the Ato Project. The name “Ato” is used by many native Japanese speakers to refer to art and is inspired by Kelly’s “happy place.”
Click here to learn more about the origins of The Ato Project →
