19 Memphis Adult Education Classes to Enrich Your Life!

Whether you want to refine your culinary skills, learn to belly dance, create your own art, plant a butterfly garden, or better manage your stress, the start of a new year is the perfect time to dive in. Here are 19 adult education options in Memphis to stimulate your mind, stretch your creativity, and challenge your body.

For Artistic Exploration

Arrow Creative

Have you ever wanted to paint a winter watercolor, knit a hat, or make a gemstone pendant? You can do all this and more at Arrow Creative, a nonprofit aiming to make art more accessible to the Memphis community. Along with shoppable artist studios and maker spaces, this creator’s hub offers year-round hands-on instruction in everything from studio and fiber arts to candle and jewelry making. You can also sign up for private lessons in drawing and painting, sewing, ceramics, knitting and crochet, bookbinding, photography, and digital art. Learn more at arrowcreative.org.

Five in One Social Club

If you were one of those kids who lived for arts and crafts time in school, don’t miss the Kindergarten for Grown Folks classes at Five in One Social Club, which hosts creative workshops and sells handmade goods by local artists. Even if you don’t think of yourself as creative, these engaging and fun classes may change your mind! Learn to turn empty wine bottles into upcycled glassware, marble a silk scarf, experiment with indigo dying and rug braiding, make a stained-glass suncatcher, or needle felt your favorite animal. Classes are typically three to four hours, with supplies provided, and students are welcome to bring their own drinks or snacks. Check out upcoming workshops at fiveinonesocial.com.

Memphis Photo Space

Take your photography skills to the next level at Memphis Photo Space, a professional studio with equipment and space rentals and classes for beginner and aspiring photographers. Master the basics of lighting, flash, and posing; discover how to use editing software to make your photos picture-perfect; or learn the secrets behind taking great headshots, product photography, and family portraits. Book a class at memphisphotospace.com.

Metal Museum

Got an appreciation for fine metalwork? Create some of your own! One of the few institutions in the world devoted to advancing the art and craft of metalwork, the Metal Museum offers studio classes in blacksmithing, casting, welding, enameling, and other metalsmithing techniques. No experience necessary! Classes range from beginner to advanced, and all tools and materials are provided. Learn how to forge everything from jewelry to ornamental art, or take a shorter Make Your Own class to experiment with gold leafing and other introductory concepts. Classes sell out quickly, so hurry over to metalmuseum.org to register before they fill up. Prefer to learn from home? Check out the museum’s online instructional videos to see metalsmithing processes in action and follow along with step-by-step tutorials.

Seize the Clay

Are you a kinesthetic person who loves getting your hands dirty? Give pottery a whirl! For $90, you can take a 45-minute or two-and-a-half-hour private class at Seize the Clay, a pottery painting studio in Chickasaw Oaks Plaza. In these one-on-one introductory lessons, you’ll learn how to center the clay on the wheel and throw a bowl or two yourself that you can paint and glaze later. Hone your pottery skills further with a month-long class at Belltower Coffeehouse and Studio in the University of Memphis district, which also offers pottery intro and mug-making classes for $45.

Crosstown Brewery

One of Memphis’ favorite local breweries, Crosstown Brewery, recently launched a Creative Juices series of classes for its patrons. Design funky earrings and pendants during a leather-making jewelry class at the taproom on January 26. Supplies and tools will be provided; all you need to bring is your thirst for knowledge and creativity! The cost is $60, with one beer included in the ticket price.

For Aspiring Bakers

Frost Bake Shop

Perfect your frosting and piping abilities with a cake decorating class at Frost Bake Shop. For $75, you can learn the latest tricks and techniques from Frost’s expert cake decorators in monthly classes themed around holidays and seasons. Frost supplies the tools and equipment at its Bartlett bakery and the cake itself, so all you need to bring is an appetite for learning! Sign up for cookie- or cupcake-decorating classes to expand your skills, or upgrade to $100 to learn how to decorate with fondant! Find a complete list of courses and dates at frostbakeshop.com.

Muddy’s Bake Shop

Do you dream about the mouthwatering goodies at Muddy’s Bake Shop? Now you can recreate them yourself! The iconic small-batch Memphis bakery offers weekend baking classes at its Broad Street location. Students get their own apron and baking station stocked with kitchen supplies and ingredients, where they can experiment with making scones, biscuits, cookies, cupcakes, and other treats. The beginner-friendly classes are small, interactive, and fun, with help from instructors and time for questions. You can even book a private class for your group or take a virtual class from your home kitchen! Search for upcoming classes and register HERE.

Dance It Out

Ballet Memphis

Is one of your resolutions to move more in 2023? Ballet Memphis offers several classes to get you active in new ways. Improve your flexibility, posture, and coordination with Pilates classes taught on the mat and with equipment. Or explore new forms of movement and creative expression with an adult ballet class led by professional dancers. Adult ballet classes are small and open to beginners; the cost is just $15 for drop-ins. Stop by the Overton Square studio Friday nights at 5:30 p.m. for $5 ballet, Latin, and flamenco dance taught in Spanish. You can sign up for any of these classes virtually through the Ballet Memphis app, which you can download HERE.

Blue Suede Ballroom

Ready to take your dance moves up a notch? Check out the offerings at Blue Suede Ballroom. Located in the Forest Hill Shopping Center, this dance studio teaches private and group classes to students of all levels of experience and ability. And you don’t even need to bring a partner! Lessons cover different styles of ballroom dance, as well as salsa, swing, tango, waltz, rumba, foxtrot, samba, and cha-cha. Classes are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. and cost $10 per person. Get your friends in on the fun by booking a private group class for an upcoming birthday, anniversary, or special event.

Theatreworks

Theatreworks, a nonprofit that provides rehearsal and performance space for local artists and performing arts groups, also hosts dance classes at its Monroe and Poplar Avenue locations. Get fit with tango or belly dancing, take a tap dance class or tap into your dramatic side with improv dance. Find a list of classes and times at theatreworksmemphis.org.

For Nature Lovers

Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Known for its innovative programs in the arts and horticulture, Dixon Gallery and Gardens offers loads of inspiration and learning opportunities for art and nature lovers. Practice making seasonal bouquets, create tinctures and salves from favorite herbs, or delve into nature sketching in Dixon’s monthly workshops and classes. Hear discussions on diverse topics from art history to seed starting at their weekly ‘Munch and Learns,’ led each Wednesday by local artists, scholars, and Dixon staff.

Dixon also sponsors tons of free programs, including art classes for seniors, docent-led tours of exhibitions on Sunday afternoons, and a monthly book club focused on nature, the arts, and history. Looking for some zen? Venture to the garden for free yoga classes on Thursday evenings, lunchtime meditations at noon on Fridays, or tai chi classes on Saturday mornings.

Memphis Botanic Gardens

Got the winter blues? Memphis Botanic Gardens offers a full schedule of events and workshops to ignite your creativity and get you dreaming of spring. Explore how to draw and paint feathers in watercolor, create garden gnomes and ceramic mushrooms, forge statement jewelry, learn how to correctly prune hydrangeas, do yoga in the garden or take an oil painting course.

Classes range in cost, with discounts for members! Whether you’re an avid gardener or just an admirer of nature, the garden sponsors programs year-round to broaden your knowledge of horticulture and the environment. Attend 90-minute garden workshops for insights on terrariums, floral design, and herb and container gardening, or 45-minute garden talks to learn how to care for different types of plants and attract pollinators. Explore the garden’s rich history and its 30 specialty gardens in-depth with a private docent-led tour.

Bartlett City Beautiful

Want to become a better gardener? Bartlett City Beautiful is hosting a Gardening University for beginner and experienced gardeners who wish to develop their green thumb. Taught by master gardeners, topics include identifying toxic and invasive plants, growing medicinal plants, supporting butterfly migration with monarch waystations, master planning landscaping for home gardens, and rules for planting mixed and blended gardens. The free series is held Saturday afternoons through February 11 at the Bartlett Public Library. For more info, visit cityofbartlett.org.

For Lifelong Learners

Creative Aging

Retired and want to stay busy? You can find a plethora of lifelong learning classes through Creative Aging’s Senior Studio. Dedicated to using the arts to enhance the lives of seniors, the nonprofit offers an ongoing list of in-person and virtual classes taught by local artists and held at museums, libraries, and other community venues throughout Memphis.

Courses cover an array of mediums, including piano and dulcimer instruction, watercolor painting, drawing and sketching, creative and memoir writing, collage and mosaic making, songwriting, calligraphy, printmaking, screenwriting and improv, and dance. Classes are free and typically taught over four to eight weeks. Visit creativeagingmidsouth.org for more info.

Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning

Wish you could go back to college to take a course or two without giving up your day job? You can do exactly that through Rhodes College’s Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning, which just opened its spring semester for registration. Taught by college faculty, courses cover various topics from medieval history and Buddhism to Shakespearean poetry to ethics and social justice. Evening classes run from late January through the end of April and include in-person, Zoom, and hybrid options. If you find three or more classes you want to enroll in, you’ll get a 10% discount on your total tuition.

Memphis Public Library

Libraries are known for offering help with tax prep, software programs, and computer literacy, but the Memphis Public Library goes a step beyond those basic offerings with a variety of classes focused on health and wellness, finance, arts and crafts, and civic engagement. Experiment with new crafts like scented candle making or knitting; take classes in yoga, aerobics, nutrition, or healthy cooking; learn beginner Spanish; brush up on your tech skills, or gain new gardening insights. The library also hosts writing groups and book clubs for literary lovers. Browse the calendar HERE for upcoming classes, many of which are free.

Get Well

Sundara Wellness

If you’ve ever wanted to give meditation a try, there’s no time like the new year! Unwind from the stress from the week and get into the right headspace with Slow Your Roll Meditation classes taught by life coach Greg Graber, author of Slow Your Roll: Mindfulness for Fast Times. Beginners are welcome, and classes are just 30 minutes. Held at Sundara Wellness in Midtown, the six-week series costs $60 and kicks off on January 21. Call (901) 321-5803 by January 14 to register.

The Broom Closet

Searching for deep relaxation and rejuvenation? The Broom Closet, a metaphysical shop in downtown Memphis, is hosting Celestial Sound Bath experiences from January through March for those interested in trying this meditative practice. Certified sound therapist Matt Petty will lead the sensory sessions, using crystal singing bowls, gongs, chimes, and multiple instruments to immerse participants in healing sound vibrations. Space is limited to 10 participants, so reserve your spot ahead of time!

Stay curious, Memphis!

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