THE ART ANNEX
(a brief history)
In September 2007, Kira and Pete opened the doors to Hootenanny Art House on15th Street in Park Slope. The vision was of a community Art House with a swinging screen door and a porch, with kids and grown ups coming and going…singing, playing ukuleles, making art, eating pie, and making friends.
By 2018 their Art program was outgrowing the space and Hannah Kasper Levinson joined them to create the Hootenanny Art Annex on 7th Ave. Hannah’s vision for the Art Annex was to create an art studio where children come to create, explore, and experience themselves through art. She values open ended materials and employs an approach that values the creative process over a uniform product.
In the spring of 2021, Hannah moved to Ohio. Christie had been teaching art in various schools and non-profits for the past 20 years or so, but had been daydreaming about one day running her own art studio. So she reached out to Kira and a new partnership was born!
With some neighborly negotiations and a promise to continue this awesome responsibility of bringing art to the community, Kira and Pete handed over the keys to the Art Annex and Christie started putting into action all of the plans she had for the space.
The mission of The Art Annex is to continue to embody Kira, Pete, and Hannah's vision of building a community of inspired, resilient and creative thinkers, while also expanding our programming to serve artists of all ages.
Because everyone needs meaningful art experiences!
We hope that you will send your children to come make art with us,
and that you will come make art with us too!
Please stop by, give us a call, or send us an email anytime.
our team
Christie O'Brien
The owner of The Art Annex, Christie has been working with children for 20+ years teaching at public and private schools all over NYC, as well as various non-profits and museums.
She also enjoys making all kinds of art with her own children, ranging from the more crafty (fabric dyeing with avocados and weaving with old shirts) to the more traditional (drawing, printmaking, and large scale collaborative paintings).
Her teaching style is always a process-based approach to an art curriculum, with a focus on the making over the final product.
Christie lives in the South Slope with her family, and is SO excited to continue building this creative community!
Samantha Hagan
Samantha was raised in Somers, New York, where she spent the majority of her adolescence drawing in the edges of her school notebooks. She attended NYU where she majored in Theatre and the School of School Arts where she studied Graphic Design and Illustration. She worked for 6 years as the Art Director of a children’s company, where her job was to think of products that would make kids smile. After having her daughter, Samantha started her own company, Thimbled and Threaded, where she makes kid’s art and handmade accessories and games. She has taught arts, as well as crafts to preschool and elementary age children.
When she isn’t working on her business or teaching, Samantha can be found painting, drawing, knitting, weaving, or learning a new craft. She lives with her daughter and husband in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.
rosie
rudavsky
Rosie is a drawer, painter and illustrator from New York City. She went to Oberlin College and has studied at the New York Studio School of Drawing and Painting.
She worked most recently at the Putney Art Program teaching Drawing and Book Arts to teens, and has worked for years with younger children, bridging nature with arts through child driven creative exploration.
Rosie loves to spend time in Prospect Park and on the subway drawing from life, and plays ultimate frisbee whenever she gets the chance.
hattie
sChapiro
Hattie Schapiro is an art teacher, visual artist, and math tutor based in Park Slope. She believes self and community empowerment are grounded in the nurturing of our creative selves.
In her teaching, Hattie combines the roles of mentor, artist, scientist, coach, and explorer. She aims to create a classroom environment where each student feels confident to try, fail, and try again.
When she is not making art or finishing her masters in art education, Hattie likes to ride her bike, host Shabbat dinners,
and learn how to sing.
Kelsey
pantoja
Kelsey is an educator who has been teaching in New York City for the past 10 years. She graduated with her Masters in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education.
She has been passionate about child centered learning and exploring throughout her time as an educator. Incorporating art materials into her teaching no matter what the subject is, has always been a must.
Kelsey is a mom to a three year old, Emmy, who is just as passionate about art as her mom. Kelsey looks to incorporate art and exploration into their lives every day.
vic walsh
Vic is a dual-degree student in their final semester at The New School, studying Fine Arts (BFA) and “Art and the Mind” (BA in Liberal Arts). They enjoy working with sound, painting with rust, and creating sculptures that encourage growth and decay. Much of their art-making begins with the question “what happens if…” Lately, their favorite materials are dirt and mold, and one could describe their studio as smelling “earthy.”
Vic also spends their summers as a counselor at Beam Camp, supporting campers in independent and camp-wide art and building projects. They volunteer regularly at the Dream House and love putting the chickens to bed at the Bushwick City Farm.
Jocelyn Mackenzie
Jocelyn Mackenzie is a Brooklyn-based musician, maker, and medium. A singer, songwriter, songwriting coach, artist, stylist, intuitive, and psychic, she loves exploring the way different mediums of creativity inform one another as they intersect.
Jocelyn’s art work centers around textiles, wearable art, found object makeups, zero waste fashion, styling, and performance art. She holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2005) and is skilled in makeup, costume making, knitting, crochet, graphic design & fabrication.
Best known as the singing drummer from indie-pop trio Pearl and the Beard recently released her debut solo album PUSH on Righteous Babe Records. Jocelyn is also a psychic medium who uses her finely tuned empathic and intuitive senses to offer intimate readings.
Emilia DeVitis
Emilia has a BFA from The School of Visual Arts and has been involved in the visual arts both personally and professionally for over 30 years.
She’s has been involved in group shows and solo shows both in the US and abroad as well as having her work featured in art publications. Having always had an interest in the discovery of materials and their outcome, Emilia unearths their possibilities through her abstract portraits. Being a multi media artist has given her the freedom to always pursue the endless possibilities of creating.
Emilia lives and has her studio in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
You can view her work on Instagram @emiliadevitis
Imani Miller-Annibell
Imani is a Brooklyn-based artist and jewelry & accessory designer. She attended Pratt Institute and received her B.A. from Oberlin College. Her work has graced the jewelry cases of marquee brands across the globe, including HSN, Dillard's, Ted Baker, Kenneth Cole, and Diamond International. In March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Imani launched her brand, Imani Miller Designs. Since then, she has made and curated beautiful groups of accessories, and designed custom, fine jewelry pieces for clients that are trend setting, thoughtfully crafted and widely sought after. Love of family, passion for art and commitment to community define Imani Miller-Annibell, and her designs.
SUSAN
Greenstein
Susan teaches art to young children at Brooklyn Friends School. Before that she was a teaching artist at Studio in a School. Prior to her teaching career, Susan was a freelance editorial and children’s book illustrator.
When Susan is not teaching you can find her painting in various places around NYC, especially in Brooklyn.
She loves to paint en plein air (outside), mostly painting in watercolors. Susan also loves drawing anything and everything. She says, “Drawing and painting the world around me helps me to feel much more connected to my environment.” Susan received her BFA at Pratt institute and her MA at Queens College.
Sara
MuÑoz Ledo rodriguez
Sara is an interdisciplinary artist from Morelos, Mexico. Sara graduated from The New School with a BFA in photography and a BA in creative writing. Before working at the Art Annex, Sara worked as a Teaching Assistant at the International Center of Photography and the Children’s Museum of the Arts.
Sara believes that all children should have the opportunity to create their own narratives and experience themselves through art.
In addition to teaching and making art, Sara loves biking, propagating plants, looking at birds, and eating mangos.
Janet
Pedersen
Janet Pedersen is a Brooklyn based fine artist and educator.
She has worked with both adults and children, and loves to teach! Earlier in her career, Janet illustrated children’s books and eventually authored a few of
her own.
Aside from studio painting, Janet enjoys painting on location (plein air) and is grateful for Prospect Park and the architecture of her Brooklyn neighborhood of
Park Slope.
She works in most mediums. She received her BFA from Art Center College of Design in California.