The Carpenter Art Garden, a welcoming and sprawling oasis for young Binghampton residents, was conceived in 2012 when a blighted lot in the neighborhood was transformed into an outdoor art classroom. Over the next few years, passionate neighborhood residents, local artists, and generous volunteers listened to the community needs and responded by joining forces to enable year-round, free programming aimed at empowering Binghampton youth to create their best futures.
Now celebrating their 10th year, the non-profit continues to promote each child's creativity and self-worth through exposure to artistic, educational, and vocational programs they might not otherwise be exposed to in eight beautiful spaces along Carpenter Street. Programming aims to cultivate creativity, a love of learning, relationship-building, leadership, and neighborhood pride.
This month, the children are gearing up for their annual yard heart project when approximately 125 lovingly cutout decorated wooden hearts will be staked in the yards of Binghampton residents on Valentine's Day. "It really is a visible act of love," says Executive Director, Megan Banaszek. "We have passed out over 2,000 hearts to our Binghamton neighbors!" From this project, and the creative mind of one former student named Dante, the iconic Grizz Hearts (and subsequently a very successful fundraising campaign for CAG) were born. Proceeds from the sale of the hearts were used to build the indoor art space on Carpenter Street, The Purple House. While Dante has graduated, CAG continues to leave it's mark on the hearts of Binghampton residents and beyond.
carpenterartgarden.org