Great Crowds
August 2026
Dearest NoCo Family,
We hope you have had a spectacular summer so far, with plenty of outdoor time to enjoy the sunshine. The past couple of months have been a bit of a whirlwind for us. Despite so many good things to report, we’ve been running behind on sending a proper update! Since we’ve gathered several new subscribers since our last issue, now is a great time to catch everyone up on our summer story & talk about what’s next for The Novelty Collective.
First, thank you all for joining us on the journey. Your friendship, prayers, & personal support fuel this ministry. God has been so faithful to supply our needs, & His provision always comes through the generosity of this community. NoCo operates on the faith of individuals like you who believe in the vision & choose to partner with us.
With that in mind, continue reading to learn about all the good things you helped us accomplish this summer, & mark your calendars for all the exciting fall activities coming soon.
Attention!
Wherever you see the text indented like this, the content of that paragraph is directed toward new readers. If you are new to NoCo, this is for you! Those who have been around for a while can skip the program explanations.
Afterschool
The COVE Afterschool is our drop-in art program for sixth through twelfth graders. Our doors are open between 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm, Monday to Thursday when school is in session, & our space is a maker’s playground. Kids are welcome to explore our studios, experiment with different mediums, & discover their new favorite creative outlet at no cost.
Scheduled activities often include a guest teacher or a group art project but always include a Bible lesson. Learn more about what we do with our students & browse through our photos here.
Student Art Showcase
At the end of each school year, we celebrate our students & their creativity by hosting an evening gallery to exhibit the art they made during Afterschool. Our latest Student Art Showcase featured a variety of group projects as well as pieces that individuals were inspired to create on their own. To all who came, we are incredibly grateful for your attendance, & we look forward to seeing you at the next one! For those who were unable to make it, here are some moments we captured during the event.
Our students are so imaginative & talented! It is a privilege & a blessing to foster an environment where young people get inspired & free to express their creativity without fear of ridicule or the pressure to commoditize their work. Many of our group projects are based on Bible lessons, reinforcing the concepts we learn in scripture through a hands-on approach, both to teach new skills & to produce memorable, visual representations.
From last September to the end of May, we made our way through Mark’s gospel, uncovering the meaning behind many of Jesus’ parables & connecting His message about the kingdom of God to our everyday lives. We cannot wait to see where the Spirit will lead as we open up the Book of Proverbs this September!
Look out for an important message regarding the return of Afterschool - coming soon!
Surf City Summer
Our traditional last-day group photo of the students we took to Surf City
One week has passed since we returned from Surf City! For all our new subscribers who haven’t heard:
Surf City is a week-long summer camp in western Michigan run by Pittsburgh Kids Foundation (PKF), a Christian nonprofit that serves hundreds of students from churches around Pittsburgh. Surf City takes place at Grace Adventures, which is a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan & its world-famous sand dunes. The camp features lake access, sports fields, a gym, outdoor laser tag, zip-lining, rock-climbing, archery, & more. However, the best part of camp is getting together for evening worship services & hearing a powerful presentation of the gospel message every night.
This year, we took a group of ten high schoolers with us, & several of them were Afterschool students we’ve served since they were in sixth grade. All of the kids had the time of their lives, & they were truly a joy to be around. They kept a good attitude, treated the other students with respect, arrived on time for activities, & responded well to all our after-hours conversations about faith & living life with Jesus. It was honestly a dream scenario! Faith was increased, friendships were strengthened, memories were made, & lives were changed on this trip to Michigan. We are believing & praying that God will continue to work in the hearts of our kids as they return to school & readjust to daily life.
Our students, amongst a great crowd of worshippers at Surf City, sing “Good Plans” by Red Rocks Worship
There are no words to adequately express the depths of our gratitude for all of you who supported our camp fundraiser. This is the first time in a long time we reached 100% of our funding goal—actually exceeded it. We were able to cover all our trip expenses & even purchase a few camp mementos for our students (they absolutely love the Surf City merch). Brittany & I are blown away. We love you all very much!
Be Our Guest
In the month of June, we hosted two lovely groups of people from ministries connected to The Novelty Collective. The COVE Art Center is truly a magical place, & we love getting the chance to share it with friends & partner ministries.
Ladies of Charity
The Ladies of Charity show off their paintings
Ladies of Charity at Regina Coeli Parish in Pittsburgh faithfully serve the needs of people in their community in many different ways, including a prayer ministry, in-kind donations, food distribution, & many other ongoing service projects. They have generously given to our ministry as well, & we are very grateful for their kindness & our connection to them.
Recently, a group of ladies was interested in gathering to do some art together at The COVE. The “paint party” was led by NoCo artist Rachel Casper, whom you might remember as our very first Gold Thread exhibitor. (We’ll be announcing the next Gold Thread art gallery soon!) She led the Ladies in a free-flowing lesson on abstract floral painting, allowing each artist to choose their own subject so no two paintings were the same. Everyone did such great work, & they all had an amazing time!
Our team is interested in opening up The COVE to more events like this. If you have ideas in mind, we would love to hear them & potentially host your art event in our space!
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
The Miller Institute students of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary at The COVE Art Center
Derek visited The COVE in April & spoke to us about bringing a group of students through to learn about our ministry as part of a summer program he runs at PTS. We hosted them in June, & Brittany gave a brilliant presentation about tapping the potential of empty or unused spaces, especially in churches, entitled “Reclaiming Crumbling Corners.” Derek & the Seminary are doing great work, preparing young people for a life & career in the field of Christian ministry. We feel blessed getting to share our space, our work, & our story with some of these future leaders, pastors, missionaries, & unconventional ministry workers—like us!
Audiofeed Festival
For the past three years, Brittany & I have had the privilege of representing The Novelty Collective at an amazing four-day music festival in Urbana, IL, & curating a space for visual artists on the grounds. The two of us actually attended Audiofeed Festival at different times before we ever met, so we both have a long history with the event & the incredible community.
Audiofeed Festival is a massive gathering of faith communities & DIY artists from all across the US, but it’s more than just a high-energy event with a lot of music, poetry, & panels—It’s a place where diverse people & new experiences offer a chance to make new friends, to learn, & to share. The atmosphere the Audiofeed team has cultivated over the years is a safe space to come as you are & be welcomed into a larger family. NoCo’s part in that has been to invite a much wider variety of artists to share their work & create together.
Featured artists in front of The Novelty Collective Maker Space at Audiofeed Festival in Urbana, IL
Every year is unique in its own way, but this time we brought a whole crew of Pittsburgh NoCo artists to experience it with us! Readers who also subscribe to NoCo Insiders received a more in-depth look at Audiofeed & bios on each artist. If you are interested in the stories we publish through Insiders, scroll down to find out more!
Part of the Group!
While you’ve been reading, it may have occurred to you that we have quite a lot going on. We can always use help. We know that “help” means something different to each person, but that’s the beauty of community & the Body of Christ—everyone has something unique & valuable to offer. Brittany & I do a ton of work to keep NoCo running, but it’s so much better when we aren’t doing this alone. You can be a part of this great, big, awesome, creative machine, too, if you feel so led.
Volunteer
We are always looking for volunteers to help us with Afterschool, Open Studios, & all our ongoing programs throughout the year. The commitment level we require varies depending on the position, & there’s a lot to choose from. Helping out can look like running check-in for an event, being present with our students during Afterschool one day a week, running point at Open Studios, or any number of behind-the-scenes jobs that don’t involve representing NoCo to program participants or visitors.
If you believe in our mission & want to join us in this meaningful work, please tap the link below. The application outlines several ways to get involved but isn’t a comprehensive list.
Feel free to reach out & start a conversation with us about volunteering anytime!
NoCo Insiders
God has been so good to us. It costs a lot of money to run a business, especially a nonprofit like The Novelty Collective, which, by design, does not generate its own income. We offer space, services, art supplies, promotion, & enrichment opportunities to young people, first-time makers, & emerging artists—all for free—because we believe everyone deserves the chance to create, be seen, & find camaraderie in a community that will continue to support them. If you believe in the work we do, you can join the dozens of faithful givers who help keep NoCo alive through their giving.
When you commit to giving monthly, you help us reach new levels of sustainability that will allow us to plan our next moves with confidence. For as little as $10 per month, you can become one of our Insiders & receive exclusive stories! NoCo Insiders is issued once per month, highlighting artists through personal interviews, revealing sneak peeks at upcoming events, & more. You won’t get this kind of content through our regular newsletters or social media!
As a bonus for readers who sign up before Monday, August 10, new monthly givers will receive the full catalogue of 2026 Insiders articles!
We aren’t trying to sell you on a hot new product or an essential service—The Novelty Collective is an idea. It’s the belief that everyone deserves a seat at the table, regardless of ability, class, social status, background, etc. If you have the ability & you’re on board with our vision to “restore creation to its Creator,” tap the button below to choose a fund & sign up for monthly giving.
Open Studios
One way to join us obligation-free is by attending Open Studios! We took a break from Open Studios in July, but we’ll be back on Saturday, August 8. In the same spirit as the ongoing “group” thread of this newsletter, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a collaborative art project that began at Audiofeed Festival in July.
Open Studios is an all-day, free-for-all art hangout for adults. All ten of our art studios & everything inside is free to use. The space is huge, so there’s plenty of room to sit somewhere quietly to concentrate or gather around a big table to create with others.
Open Studios takes place every second Saturday of the month, from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Workshops led by artists in the NoCo community run from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm.
There has never been a better time to join us for a day of creating at The COVE. We’ve witnessed incredible attendance this year, & we see new faces every month! You are welcome to drop in at any time & stay for as long as you like. You can expect fresh coffee in the morning & a light lunch to keep you going in the afternoon. Bring a project you’re working on or discover something new in one of our ten inspiring art studios. You are welcome to join us even if you just plan to hang out & meet new people.
Now that you’re all caught up on our summer activities, the next NoCo Newsletter will focus on the future. Until then, please be sure to look out for our event announcements on social media. There’s a lot to be excited about as we head into the fall!
Blessings,
Jordan & Brittany
Article written by Jordan A. King
