Monart Drawing Center

Berkeley, United States

5

2 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 510-350-7402
Website:
www.berkeleymonart.com
Address:
2500 Martin Luther King Way, Berkeley, CA, 94707
Downtown Berkeley
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 miDurant Av & Shattuck Av
0.4 miShattuck Av & Kittredge St
0.5 miCenter Street & Milvia Street
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Bussiness info

Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (Berkeley) 5:32 AM Saturday, June 14, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

An academically based curriculum, all lesson plans are designed by Mona Brookes, the author of Drawing with Children and the founder of the Monart Art Schools.

The Monart Online Store provides a user-​friendly and affordable art curriculum of more than 200 projects for art teachers, homeschool teachers, and parents. For all ages — from preschool children to teenage budding artists to adults who want to try something new.

All drawing lessons are available at the Monart Store, in addition to a new curriculum for PreK — 1st graders called Drawing through the Alphabet. Go to monart​.com and click the «Monart Store» in the drop down menu. Stop by and say hello!

History

Established in 1981.

The Monart Method used in all drawing lessons involves training students to perceive an «alphabet» of sorts focused on five basic elements of shape families that combine to form all objects. Drawing lessons are available for purchase online. Mona has been recognized and featured in places such as the Today Show, PBS, Disney Channel, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Fox news, and the Los Angeles Times.

Meet the Business Owner

Mona B.

Business Owner

Mona Brookes, founder of the Monart Drawing Schools, attended the Chouinard Art Institute, and received a degree in Psychology and Art from Pepperdine University. She developed the Monart Method in 1979 with children in conjunction with phonetic reading programs for K-​6th grade. She received a California Arts Council field study grant, which showed as much as a 20% increase in reading scores. She started Monart Drawing Schools in 1981, and expanded to create an art curriculum that is user-​friendly and allows anyone the opportunity to learn how to draw.

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2 reviews of Monart Drawing Center

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Oakland, CA
With the arts being almost totally absent in the public schools, I have tried numerous art classes for my 10 year old over the years. I have always been disappointed until now. Mona Brookes has re-​opened MonArt in Berkeley, and my daughter LOVES these classes. I thought I would pay for a trial month of classes and end up quitting after that, but my daughter wouldn’t allow for that! When I pick her up after her 1.5 hour class, she is so disappointed to leave. I think this is because Mona is so fabulous at really meeting the students where they are. She is patient, creative, and deeply knowledgeable about child development. She uses really high-​quality materials, interesting subjects (often nature-​based, which we all love!), and has a beautiful studio/​workspace. Most importantly, she truly understands how to teach for the long-​term goals of building a life-​long love of art, cultivation of the imagination, and development of skills. I have also bought one of Mona’s books – just as fabulous – describing her unique approach to learning and teaching art. AND MonArt has summer camps, which my daughter is really looking forward to. She teaches all ages, so as soon as I am finished with my graduate coursework, I’m going to sign myself up for some classes as well! These are the BEST art classes I’ve seen. I give them my highest recommendation!
Place rating: 5
Mill Valley, CA
I have known about Monart since the 1990’s and recently I attended a trial class /​open house at a new Monart center in Berkeley and was so impressed with her style of teaching, so supportive and kind. We all came out with beautiful drawings and many of us signed up for a series of classes. I am so excited that the founder of Monart is actually teaching these classes.