Hours: Weekdays 10-6. Weekends 11-5.
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Hours: Weekdays 10-6. Weekends 11-5.
DONATE

Josie’s Education & Programming Update

July 31, 2026
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Hello Everyone!

My name is Josie, and I am the Education & Program Manager here at Hot Shops. In my role, I oversee all arts education programs and educational initiatives to maximize student and visitor engagement. The goal of our all-ages programming is to fulfill our mission: To be a place where ideas, dreams, and what ifs are explored, created, and shared.

As we start to see the end of summer on the horizon, I wanted to share some exciting things that have happened so far this year, along with a few things we’re looking forward to!

From January – June 2026, we’ve already:

  • Provided 508 classes for 2,466 creative learners
  • Collaborated on 6 CreativeMornings/Omaha lectures featuring local creatives
  • Curated 18 gallery exhibitions
  • Welcomed visitors through 39 group tours and 35 artist demonstrations, serving 1,739 visitors

This summer we:

  • Hosted 13 workshops for 110 students through Collective for Youth.
  • Facilitated 10 FREE workshops at The RiverFront, with 7 more still to come between August and October.
  • Welcomed 76 scholars from Nelson Mandela School, where they toured the building, watched glassblowing and pottery demonstrations, completed a drawing activity, and tried glass stamping.
  • Hosted groups from LinkedIn, Holdrege High School, UNO Aim for the Stars, Upward Bound, AIM Institute, and many others.
  • A huge shout-out to all of our teaching artists! There have been too many amazing workshops and classes to count. Thank you for sharing your talents and helping make this place come to life.

Exciting News & Big Announcements
This fall we will be welcoming five high school seniors from Omaha South and Westview High School to Torchbearer’s Academy. These students will complete 90 hours of internship experience for school credit. We are so excited to introduce them to the Hot Shops community and help them learn the entrepreneurial side of being a working artist.

Big announcement! We have been awarded an Arts Project Grant from the Nebraska Arts Council! This grant will support a specialized professional development program that helps artists strengthen their communication skills and develop engaging artist talks. We’ll be sharing more information soon!

We are also excited to welcome back all Gretna Public Schools fifth graders for their annual fall field trips. This is such a valuable opportunity for students to meet working artists and experience firsthand how the arts enrich our community.

Every class, tour, demonstration, and conversation helps someone discover new ideas and creative possibilities. Thank you for being part of this community and for helping us inspire the next generation of artists and creative thinkers. Here’s to an exciting fall ahead!