NEW YORK, NY.- The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will join with Nike and Make Something!!, an organization founded by artistic curator Aaron Rose to introduce kids to new creative opportunities in the arts, to present a series of educational workshops focused on creativity and design. Beginning July 12, local students will work alongside Nike designers and Make Something!! artists to design graphics, apparel, footwear and event activities in celebration of the World Basketball Festival taking place in New York in August.

The students, recruited via Cooper-Hewitt and Nike Sustainable Business and Innovation, will work hands-on with designers and Make Something!! collaborators, including Todd James and Ari Marcopoulos, to design a product collection and create celebratory activities representative of the culture, performance, vitality and style of New York, basketball and the competing World Basketball Festival countries, United States, China, Puerto Rico, France and Brazil.

“Cooper-Hewitt is a leader in the advancement of design education, and its national roster of education programs serves to introduce students to collegiate and career opportunities in design,” said Caroline Baumann, associate director of the museum. “We’re delighted to join with Nike and Make Something!! in bringing this incredible, free program to local students.”

The first week of design workshops include:

Nike: Converse: Graphic Design Workshop; Monday, July 12—Students will work with product graphic designers. The focus will be designing graphics for the individual countries represented in the World Basketball Festival. This program is free. Advanced registration is required (http://www.events.cooperhewitt.org).

Nike Sportswear: Destroyer Workshop; Tuesday, July 13—Students will work with apparel and graphic designers to pick materials and appliqués for the Destroyer jacket. This program is free. Advanced registration is required (http://www.events.cooperhewitt.org).

Nike: Jordan: Jersey Top + Jersey Short Workshop; Wednesday, July 14—Students will work with apparel and color designers to create patterns for Jordan jersey top and shorts to represent the countries in the World Basketball Festival. This program is free. Advanced registration is required (http://www.events.cooperhewitt.org).

Nike Basketball: Shoe + Ball Workshop; Thursday, July 15—Students will work with footwear designers to create various Hyperdunk products to represent the countries in the World Basketball Festival. This program is free. Advanced registration is required (http://www.events.cooperhewitt.org).

Nike: Hybrid Shoe; Friday, July 16—A select group of students will be chosen by the overall design team to take part in designing the first Nike Inc. hybrid basketball shoe, which pulls together design elements of Nike Basketball, Brand Jordan and Converse footwear.

These workshops will take place at Nike Stadium NYC, a multipurpose experiential environment, which opened in May 2010, and will include a tour of the customization studio. The students will also hear from professional athletes and learn how they collaborate with designers.

Following the Nike workshops, students will work on various cultural and community activities in the run up to the World Basketball Festival in August. Workshops will take place with artists and designers in the fields of sign and portrait painting, poster design, mural creation, costume design, music production, puppetry and choreography.