ART MAKING AT ACP: The Arts Council of Princeton will honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an art-making workshop led by artist Tamara Torres on Monday, January 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to all ages.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an art-making workshop, food drive, and community gathering, free and open to all ages.

In this workshop, artist Tamara Torres will lead participants to explore color’s varying effects on emotions and, together, discuss ways to express feelings through abstract art. Participants will spend 10 minutes to create freely on a sheet of paper, allowing themselves to express their feelings without the constraints of perfection, rules, or judgment. Afterward, they’ll be challenged to tear up their paper and use the pieces to create a new collage that represents a different perspective, transforming it into something new. This exercise encourages conversations about changing perspectives and looking at things in a fresh way.

Community partner activities will be provided by the Historical Society of Princeton (HSP) and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society. In addition, pages from the coloring book ACP created in partnership with HSP and local historian Shirley Satterfield will be available for children to color, read through the short stories, and learn a little more about how Princeton came to be the place it is today. These pages detail MLK’s visit to Princeton University in 1960 and celebrate Black Princetonians and their businesses, stories, and invaluable contributions to this town. Light snacks will be served.

Attendees are encouraged to bring with them canned goods to fill ACP’s accessible Food Pantry coordinated in partnership with Send Hunger Packing Princeton. Shelf-stable goods will be accepted during ACP business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This free community event is supported by Princeton University Office of Community and Regional Affairs and Lydia and Johan Pfeiffer.

Arts Council of Princeton is at 102 Witherspoon Street. For more information, visit artscouncilofprinceton.org or call (609) 924.8777.