Recent Classes and Events
Comic Kids engages children in the full art experience in multiple ways. We teach in person and virtual drawing classes to children in need, provide art curriculum to educators, participate in art-related community events with nonprofit partners, and facilitate art-related field trips. See some of our recent classes, events and field trips below.
Holiday Card Decorating at Merrick Park, Coral Gables
December 19th, 2024
What a wonderful time we had creating holiday cards for Santa at Merrick Park with Miami Mom Collective! Families enjoyed a fabulous evening of holiday crafts and snacks, then met the big guy himself for photos under the giant Christmas tree. Children could sip hot cocoa with marshmallows, have their hair and faces painted, get animals balloons, have sensory play experience, jump in a ball pit and get creative with us writing and designing cards with holiday stickers, markers and gems.
Keynote Speaker for The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce
December 19, 2024
Comic Kids was honored to be the keynote speaker for the esteemed Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce annual holiday breakfast. We spoke to the crowd about Comic Kids, showed a clip of our feature on The Kelly Clarkson Show, discussed our goals for 2025 and did a gratitude art activity of the character Joy from “Inside Out”.
Miami Book Fair with PBS South Florida
November 23, 2024
Children visiting the Miami Book Fair had a wonderful time engaging in art with Comic Kids in the PBS South Florida Tent. The children created colorful gratitude cards for their loved one’s while being encouraged by the messaging of Daniel Tiger’s “Be My Neighbor” day.
Gratitude Art Class with YMCA South Miami
November 6, 2024
With inspiration from the “Inside Out 2” character “Joy”, we created an art class that focuses on gratitude, and an opportunity for the children to draw their own positive memory of something they’re grateful for using our gratitude drawing template. We started the class by listing what the children were grateful for and then gave them an opportunity to draw it themselves. At the end of class, the children were able to show their drawings and discuss their special memory with the group.
Little Lighthouse Annual Halloween Party
October 19, 2024
What a wonderful time the children of various organizations in Miami had at the Little Lighthouse Foundation annual Halloween Party. The kids arrived in costumes to trick-or-treat, partake in arts and crafts, enjoy a dance party, meet the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, watch dancers, play games and eat their fill of pizza, popcorn, snowcones and lots and lots of candy! Comic Kids provided cute monster drawing activities and we had a blast seeing our students from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Lotus House and Girl Power Rocks.
Miami Children’s Museum Read & Draw Class
March 17, 2024
What a wonderful time we had supporting children’s art and literacy accessibility at The Miami Children’s Museum by hosting a “Read + Draw” class at the museum. Mr Reed read excerpts from “Dog Man” and the book “Ada Twist, Scientist” as children listened to his funny voices and colored the characters. Made possible by The Children’s Trust, many organizations were present that help foster a love of reading in children, something so important to our mission at Comic Kids.
Squishmallow Drawing Class
February 16, 2024
The patients at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami had a great time participating in our “Squishmallow Drawing Class”. We love this class, and so do the kids, because every child can design their own character. This gives them creative freedom to do what they like while using the template of the popular Squishmallow plushy toy.
Children’s Hospital Book Donation
January 27th, 2024
Nearly 100 Comic Kids art books donated by this awesome family to help brighten the day of kiddos in Minneapolis, many of whom are undergoing medical treatments. How great is this?!
Cute Food Drawing Class
January 23, 2024
Such a fun class teaching the children at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami how to draw cute food! They had a blast learning how to draw a cute cupcake, boba tea and donut. Thanks to our awesome partners at Scholastic, we were able to give all the children who took the art class a “Shopkins” comic book full of more cute food, to inspire them in both reading and drawing! Combining literature with art is one of the core principles of Comic Kids and a big part of our mission to bring art classes, art books and art supplies into vulnerable communities.
Voices for Children Book Donation
December 19, 2023
Their mission is in their name; they are the voices for our most vulnerable children. Comic Kids is honored to partner with @Scholastic to donate books and art books for children in foster care in Miami. Voices for Children is a Miami nonprofit which helps abused, abandoned and neglected children and youth in the Miami-Dade County foster care system. They provide critical support of advocacy, essential needs and positive experiences. The Guardian ad Litem volunteers are a team of trained volunteers, attorneys and program managers who represent foster children in court, serving as the children’s voice to ensure their rights, needs and permanency.
Sing Movie Drawing Class
December 17 2023
It's always a treat to draw with children and their families! Here are photos from a recent class at Nicklaus Children's Hospital drawing the eternal optimist from the animated movie "Sing", Buster Moon. One of the parents was spending their birthday at the hospital caring for their child, and our class was one of the ways the family celebrated together. Never underestimate the awesome power of art for bringing families together!
Ronald McDonald House Book Donation
Dec 5, 2023
Today, Comic Kids donated 87 brand new Comic book Kids Art books and Scholastic books to the children and families at Ronald McDonald House in Miami for their holiday gift drive. Ronald McDonald house is an amazing nonprofit with over 350 locations worldwide which provides housing and food to families while their children are undergoing hospital treatments. Ronald McDonald House gives welcome gifts to new families staying at the facility and Comic Kids would like to be able to provide free learn-to-draw and coloring books and pages to these kiddos.If you are interested in sponsoring art books for children staying at Ronald McDonald House, please email us at comickidsorg@gmail.com for details!
Super Mario Bros Class
July 18, 2023
A SUPER time drawing Super Mario Bros with the kiddos at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. Many of the children who take our classes at the hospital are there for long-term care and have their parents and caregivers with them. The hospital does a wonderful job creating events for families to take some of the pressure off and let the kids be KIDS! But trust us…the parents like drawing characters just as much as the kids do. Art is therapeutic! We drew three characters together and the kids proudly showed their drawings to the group on a projector. With wonderful support we were able to donate art supplies for 75 children at the hospital to keep. Children that couldn’t attend the class were able to watch a video from their rooms.
Minions Drawing Class
July 6, 2023
We loved teaching the kiddos at Nicklaus Children's Hospital how to draw Minions! Many of the children are at the hospital for long-term stays so these classes, along with other fun events for the kids, are a nice break for children and their caregivers to do something creative and interactive outside of their hospital rooms. With the help of Brito Miami Private School and Star Soul, Comic Kids was able to donate wonderful gift bags of art supplies including colored pencils, pencil pouches, Minion stickers and sketchbooks. It takes a village!
Lotus House Donation
June 23, 2023
We are so excited to be working with Lotus House Miami Women's Shelter and donating nearly 200 new items books and graphic novels for the children there! Our goal to help children learn art through comics, cartoons and books has been generously supported by our partners and friends at Scholastic Books. The Lotus House is a resource center and residential facility serving homeless women and infants in the heart of Overtown, Miami, an area suffering from extreme poverty. Sheltering 1,550+ women, youth and children annually, The Lotus House Shelter is the largest shelter for women and children in the country.
May The 4th Be With You
May 4 2023
May the 4th be with you! Today we had the great honor to one again teach the children at Miami's Nicklaus Children's Hospital how to draw that adorable little green character, Baby Yoda! "Mrs. Kat" of Comic Kids came dressed as Princess Leia herself and set up shop in the hospital with markers, colored pencils and a smartboard teaching the children in a step-by-step process. Parents and caregivers joined in to have some quality time with their children who are staying at the hospital for treatments. Kids that were unable to attend were given the QR code to a drawing video so they could partake as well in their hospital rooms. Comic Kids donated colored pencils, pencil cases, sketchbooks and Baby Yoda vinyl stickers to the kiddos with the help of their amazing partner Star Soul!
United Way Luncheon
March 28 2023
Such an honor to be a speaker at the United Way Miami Trustee Luncheon! We spoke about Comic Kids programming and how we are looking to grow our outreach to children in underserved communities by teaching the kiddos art through comics, cartoons and books. We were able to share about Comic Kids classes and events as well as registration information for schools, after school programs, non-profits, hospitals, foster cares and shelters. We had a chance to meet many wonderful organization executives who assist these children.
Moon Over Coral Gables
March 21 2023
Moon Over The Gables is a great example of how one ART installation can mobilize an entire community. We are grateful to The Coral Gables Community Foundation for the opportunity to engage children in fun, tactile and creative activities and introduce Comic Kids to kids and parents in our community. The entirety of Ponce Circle Park was filled with families listening to book readings by our amazing local bookstore Books and Books and The Coral Gables Museum had great space-inspired crafts for kids too! Another thank you to our high school volunteers from Brito Miami Private School. What an amazing event!
Glow in the Dark Class
March 17 2023
St. Patrick’s Day art class…with a twist! The children learned how to draw a leprechaun on a neon green paper, then the lights were turned off and a black light was turned on! Their wee little drawing began to GLOW and they colored the leprechaun with highlighters. A very special THANK YOU to @officialstarsoul for the amazing support of Comic Kids and the fabulous green shirts. We’re feeling extra lucky.
The WOW Center
We've expanded our programming to support individuals with physical and developmental challenges by using accessible art materials like jumbo crayons and dot markers. In partnership with The Wow Center in Miami, we tailored art classes for adults with developmental challenges. Participants explored the work of artists Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst, creating projects like a Kusama-inspired flower sculpture, a butterfly mandala, and a free-form dot painting from Hirst's "Currency Series." This approach ensures that art is inclusive, allowing everyone to engage and express themselves creatively.
Illuminate Coral Gables
Illuminate Coral Gables was an outdoor art exhibition in downtown Coral Gables on view in the spring of 2020. The children participated in a night-time walking tour of art projects incorporating video projections, sculpture and installations by local, national, and international artists. The children created an art project that was displayed in a storefront on Miracle Mile entitled "Face Sky". Bags of art supplies including sketchbooks, colored pencils, markers and art pens were donated by the community.
Van Gogh Immersive Experience
The Van Gogh Exhibit was an immersive exhibition at the Olympia Theater in Miami which contained information on more than 300 of Vincent Van Gogh’s greatest works. Floor-to-ceiling digital projections provided a backdrop for the children to walk through the most notable artworks by the artist. They experienced the paintings and sketches by the artist and visited additional spaces dedicated to learning about the artist’s life, his artworks and the techniques. The field trip ended with an unforgettable virtual reality experience for the kids.
Wynwood Walls
Wynwood Walls is one Miami's Top Five visits on Trip Advisor and it's no question why! Over 50 dazzling, cutting-edge murals were created by respected street artists from Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States in an expansive collection of colorful artworks displayed on walls outside in the Wynwood arts district. In the summer of 2021, Comic Kids brought groups of children from non-profit organizations to the walls. They were given a guided walking tour as well as an art class on site, art supplies and a pizza lunch by Joey's. It was an unforgettable experience for them to learn about the different styles of murals up-close while also creating art themselves.
The Lowe Art Museum
The Lowe Art Museum on the University of Miami campus is an art museum built in 1952 and comprising more than 19,250 objects, representing more than 5,000 years of human creativity on every inhabited continent. Children from Title 1 schools and non-profits will be given a docented walking tour of the Lowe Museum by volunteers, staff and members of The Beaux Arts Organization from their "Hands On!" committee, chaired by Comic Kids Founder Kat Barrow-Horth. In addition to learning about the artworks in the Lowe Museum, the children will be able to take an art class and recreate an artwork in the museum that they can later take home with them. This field trip will not only be able to expose the children to so many years of art history in one place but it will also be an exciting experience for them to be on campus at The University of Miami.
