New Urban Arts Benefit

New Urban Arts, a nationally recognized arts studio for high schoolers, hosts its ninth-annual campaign event tomorrow night at its West Side space. If you’ve never been to the workshop-slash-gallery-slash-office, you’re in for a treat. Think of it as the ultimate creative incubator, complete with a dark room, a printmaking/screen printing area, a digital media center and, of course, enough raw materials to paint, design, draw and write to your heart’s content. The group has been mentoring — and inspiring — students to cultivate their vast creative potential for more than a decade, and the amazing results line the walls.

The theme of Thursday’s fundraiser is “Hat’s On!” so wear your favorite hat (I’ll be the one in the ginormous straw sun hat — don’t laugh). There’s no set cover charge, but be ready to pull out your wallet — there will be a silent auction of super cool student work, and you can also bid on “art experiences” (i.e. salsa lessons, a gallon of clam chowder, and night of movioke). They’ll round out the night with student testimonials, a brief awards ceremony and a little merrymaking in the form of wine, beer and snacks. So come, wear a hat (or make one there), be generous, and help raise much-needed funds for after-school arts programming for Providence public high school students.

The event starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday April 2, and is held at New Urban Arts, 743 Westminster St., Providence, www.newurbanarts.org.