July 7 - August 4, 2025 

The Atelier at the Pozez JCC Early Childhood Learning Center came to life in 2010 during a pivotal moment of transformation. At the time, the school was shifting from a traditional play-based preschool toward a pedagogy inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, one that deeply values children’s innate curiosity and capacity for expression. As part of this shift, the then-director, Amy Brinko, invited visual artist Sarah Vejvoda to join the team. In Reggio Emilia schools, there is always an Atelier, a workshop space, and an artist, known as an Atelierista, who helps support children’s learning through different kinds of materials and forms of expression.

In the beginning, the concept of the Atelier existed on a rolling cart and a few cabinets holding carefully selected materials that were brought into classrooms. Noticing that a classroom was unused, a request was made to utilize that space in the mornings for visual explorations. That request marked the true beginning of the Atelier, which has now been a meaningful part of the preschool for the past 15 years.

The Atelier is more than a room filled with materials - it is a space of endless possibilities, grounded in the Reggio Emilia philosophy and the belief in the “hundred languages of children.” This powerful metaphor honors the countless ways children communicate and make sense of their world, through drawing, building, movement, storytelling, pretend play, music, and beyond. Not all children express their thinking with words alone. In the Atelier, they are invited to explore, create, and connect using the full spectrum of these languages. Whether working with paint, clay, light, or found objects, children engage in hands-on, often messy experiences that activate the critical hand-brain connection and support deep cognitive and emotional development. Materials become languages - tools for thinking, expressing, experimenting, and discovering. This exhibit offers just a small glimpse into the role the Atelier plays in honoring children’s many ways of knowing and expressing their ideas about the world.