About the Event

Firsthand Experience workshops bring contemporary artists together with learners ages 13 and older for hands-on programs that combine making, conversations, and discovery.

Explore the art of papercutting with artist Janelle Washington. She’ll introduce paper-cut techniques and guide participants in creating their own intricate designs. Art supplies provided; no experience necessary.

About the Artist Instructor:

Janelle Washington is an accomplished paper-cut and silhouette artist and an award-winning picture book illustrator. She uses the medium to explore Black culture, history, identity, family, and feminine beauty themes.

Washington graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in fashion design and was a children’s wear designer for 12 years before discovering the creative possibilities of paper cutting. Her silhouettes have been commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and published in Oprah magazine. She has produced installations at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. Washington debuted as a picture book illustrator with Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement (2022), which won the 2023 Caldecott Honor Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award. Her first book, Heart of the Home, will be released in fall 2026.

Questions? Email education@nmwa.org.