WMCAT Opens Fall Enrollment for 15th Year of Free Afterschool Programming

The West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology (WMCAT) has opened its fall enrollment for arts and technology studios available to all Grand Rapids Public high school students. WMCAT will host an open enrollment information session for fall programming on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 from 3:30pm – 5:00pm (doors open at 2:30pm with a program starting at 3:30pm) at their Westside location (614 First St. NW, Suite 300, Grand Rapids, MI 49504).

Entering the fifteenth year of Teen Arts + Tech Programming, WMCAT offers studio experiences to all high school students who attend Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) and employ teaching artists to deliver curriculum throughout the year. Studios include: Music Tech + Production, Ceramics, Fashion Design, 3D Game Art, Video Game Design, Photography, Video Production, and Graphic Arts. Further studio information can be found on WMCAT’s website here and examples of student work can also be found in the portfolio on the website here.

“We are excited to kick-off our fifteenth program year offering GRPS students a unique opportunity to engage as artists in our community,” shared Trudy Ngo-Brown, Director of Creative Programs. “We bring incredible teaching artists who are professionals in their field together with students twice a week. Students not only have the opportunity to creatively engage and express themselves at WMCAT but also within our broader community through various community partnerships."

Students who attend the open enrollment information session on September 4 will learn about WMCAT, see the studios, meet staff and teaching artists, and have the opportunity to submit an application. Those who attend the information session and submit an application with a parent or legal guardian signature will be given priority enrollment consideration. Applications can be downloaded in advance from WMCAT’s website or obtained at the event itself. Parents and legal guardians are welcome to attend with their students. The program is first-come, first-served and offers introductory level studios for new students and advanced studios for returning students. Programming begins on September 16, 2019. 

WMCAT has served thousands of students through its Arts + Tech Program over the last fifteen years. The majority of those students were a part of the Teen Arts + Tech Program that serves GRPS high school students. 

The Arts + Tech Program at WMCAT also includes daytime partnerships with area middle and high schools to work in WMCAT studios, and summer camps open to all area middle to high school students.  

WMCAT started in 2005 and has been providing opportunities to hundreds of families in West Michigan through the Arts + Tech Program and the Adult Career Training Program that provides career training in medical coding, medical billing and pharmacy technician.

More about WMCAT

West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology (WMCAT) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a culture of opportunity for people to create social and economic progress in their lives and community.  Through afterschool and summer arts and technology programs, WMCAT engages high school students in creativity and civic engagement. WMCAT provides career training in medical coding, medical billing and pharmacy technician fields to under and unemployed adults. WMCAT also has two social enterprise businesses: Ambrose, a commercial screen printing business, and Public Agency, a design thinking consultancy. In 2018, the organization added a cyber hub that provides community-based cybersecurity resources and opportunities within the sector. Learn more at wmcat.org.