The Only Magazine for Children's Art
Oct 7, 2026
"It's a gathering centered on artmaking and community."
For those unaware, Corita Kent (born Frances Elizabeth Kent in 1918, passed away in September of 1986) was something of a legend: a devout Catholic who trained with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, and as a teacher and activist fought for social justice - especially Civil Rights and Women's Rights - throughout her life. But most astonishingly, she also became an icon of modern 20th Century art and design, inventing a uniquely ideological Pop Art adjacent style that would turn out to be significantly influential.
During her life she would be commissioned to design hundreds of book covers, posters and murals...and her 1985 'Love' stamp for the US Post Office apparently sold more than 700 million copies. Her work would be exhibited at the likes of MoMA, The Whitney and the Smithsonian.
The now beloved Corita Art Center was founded posthumously at the Immaculate Heart Community Headquarters in 1997, and then moved to the Arts District of Los Angeles in 2025. Its mission remains to preserve her legacy, whilst also making art education more accessible, and still supporting important social causes and disadvantaged communities.
But it's not all seriousness, mind you. The annual Corita Day festival debuted in 2019 as a way for the City and County of Los Angeles to honor her lasting legacy, on the occasion of what would have been her 101st birthday. Seven years on, it's one of LA's most anticipated and joyful parties of the year, with all kinds of great food, KCRW DJs bringing the tunes, and best of all, hands-on art making experiences and workshops, especially for the little ones. It is also an ecstatic reminder of Corita's commitment to bringing communities together to celebrate creativity and commonality.
This year Corita Day takes place on Saturday, November 7, at the Southern California Institute of Architecture - and it's sure to be one of genuine highlights of the city's autumn cultural season. In anticipation, we caught up with Corita Art Center Executive Director (since 2018) Nellie Scott, for a little preview of the festivities.
(Note: Donations to the Corita Art Center can be made at their website Corita.org)
What is the mission of the annual Corita Day festival?
Corita Day is really the culmination of so much of what we do throughout the year; and we have always felt it should be a day with purpose, rooted in service, creativity and community. But we also love a good celebration!
What can visitors expect this year?
Throughout the year we work with more than 80 non-profit, mutual aid and civic partners across Los Angeles, with arts education at the center of that work; and this year will be the largest Corita Day we have ever brought together! Our highest hope is that new and old friends can come make art, spend time together and simply enjoy the day.
We know how important community is and how art can offer healing and hope. Corita Day is also a fundraiser. Everything raised that day goes right back into the work ahead. In many ways, it is one day that helps make a full year of programming possible.
What can kids learn from the artistic legacy of Corita Kent? And how can that be put into practice in their everyday lives?
Corita teaches kids to look closely, stay curious, and find something extraordinary in the everyday. She cut up words, collected images, played with color, and paid attention to what was happening around her. I think there is something wonderful in encouraging kids to do the same: to notice more, make things, ask questions and, through creativity, find ways to make the world a kinder place.
What are some of the current highlights of the work of the Corita Art Center?
There is a lot happening right now; but I think the most exciting part is how we are bringing Corita’s work into the present. Our current exhibition, 'Unordinary Days: Celebration as Resistance', looks at Corita and her students and the ways they used gathering, making, joy, and collective imagination as forms of action.
And what about specific special programming for kids and families?
We are expanding access to the collection through free Saturday visits and workshops, school and non-profit partnerships, exhibitions, and our Corita 101 Art Kits, which take her creative practice directly into communities, providing free art supplies and lessons. Corita Day brings those threads together as a large, family-friendly gathering centered on artmaking, community and the idea that creativity can be a force for the common good.
Is there an art project you could recommend for kids and parents to do at home?
Yes! We have a whole suite of free "Corita 101" bilingual downloads and coloring sheets on our website, along with video lessons on our YouTube channel. They are all very well loved and thoroughly tested on my own kids and around our kitchen table. At the moment we are especially loving making collage cubes.
(Parents: For fun, enlightening art projects you can do at home with the whole family, please visit the Corita.org website, or their always fun and educational YouTube Channel.)