At the surface, Krewe du Ewe is an after-school Parade Club where students conceptualize, build, and parade walkable (and sometimes bike-able) Parade Sculptures. But at its core, we’re here to help shepherd Imagination and Creative Problem Solving through the lens of Whimsical Community Participation.

Located in the Historic Screw Factory, Krewe Du Ewe is one of the newest members of the thriving art community that sits just south of Madison Park in Lakewood, OH.

While emphasizing the use of recycled and approachable material as well as the demystification of fine arts and real-world construction materials, KdE offers students a true PROCESS-ART experience, allowing them to build things as large and as wild as their imagination and the materials will allow.

Why Parade?

While After School Arts Programs are widely available, it’s come to our attention (upon having our own kids in these programs) that the size and scale of the projects available in some these art classes have become limited – emphasizing ease of transport, cost of materials, and a finished product that’s created alone at a table full of other kids who are also working on their own project under the instruction of a teacher.

But what comes next? What happens when we outgrow the small individual projects?
Where’s the space for experimentation, tools, and creation from scratch? When do we get to the big stuff?

What do you make when someone isn’t telling you what to make?

Well … as a kid, that can be a tricky question.

But … that’s an even more difficult question as an adult! A blank canvas is daunting! Literally and conseptually!

As adults, we learn fairly quickly (and mostly by getting thrown into sink-or-swim-style scenarios) that doing things “on your own” isn’t how things get done.

It takes a Team!

And being a part of a team is a skillset in its own right.

So where do we learn how to be a team-player?

Sports!

Sure. Sports … I guess. And don’t get us wrong … sports have their place.

Physical activity! Community Spirit! Entertainment! Camaraderie!

But I think if you’re still reading this, we can probably agree that the over-sport-ification of our society has, in-part, lead us to the very bizarre, dualistic, and fruitionlessly competitive space that we find ourselves in at this very moment. Winners and losers? If I win, you lose?! Cmon!

I mean … I like sports but not sports aren’t everything. Right? We don’t need to be competitive about everything! Not everyone’s wired that way. I’m certainly not.

What if there was a team that didn’t emphasize the Versus? What if there was a team that wasn’t constantly in competition? What if there was a team that wanted everyone to win?!

What if there was a team whose goal was to build something together? Something bigger than the sum of its parts…

What if there was an Art Team?

Well my friends … enter the

Krewe du Ewe
(“Crew-Do-You”)

(a cheeky play on the iconic Mardi Gras Krewe Du Vieux)

A team with the simple goal of building the most outlandish, conceptual, comical parade sculptures we can imagine.

But how?

Well … that’s for EWE to decide!

And that, my friends, is the WHOLE POINT!

Krewe du Ewe is here to guide and facilitate the creation of LARGE ART through the cooperation and teamwork of people from all ages. By encouraging and allowing people to create for the betterment of the whole krewe, a team builds itself!

We’re not here to tell folks how to make things. But we’re happy to show you how we’ve learned to do it. At the end of the day, we’re really here to learn how to build something TOGETHER.

The projects are BIG and sure … you can’t take them home. But the process is BIGGER and you can take that wherever your imagination allows.

If this sounds like something you’d be into, we can’t wait to meet you!

We’ll see you at the PARADE!

Process
(a constant Work in Progress)

Krewe Du Ewe utilizes recycled and approachable materials, real-world construction techniques, and fine-art materials. Classifying our projects as “mixed media” would be a wild understatement. We source materials based on the needs of our current projects and we’re constantly building out our library of whimsical gear. That being said, know that safety is our number one priority as it’s impossible to have a good time when people are getting hurt.