Educators are increasingly learning that the hands-on approach is key to retaining the interest of kids, especially during the summertime. With that in mind, Anna Russo Sieber and her crew at the ARS Arts & Culture Center in Benton Harbor are offering three separate weeks of summer art day camps for area youth this summer.
In these camps, students will work on developing skills, techniques, critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills, along with conceptual learning through the use of a broad range of resources, materials and the guidance of talented teaching artists.
Camp I, for ages 7-through-10, is scheduled from noon until 4pm each day Monday, June 20th through Friday, June 24th for a cost of $140. This camp will take place at the ARS Arts & Culture Center, located at 147 Fifth Street in the Benton Harbor Arts District.
The second and third camp sessions will rotate between ARS Arts & Culture Center and Water Street Glassworks, located at 140 Water Street, Benton Harbor, as part of the two organizations' seven-year partnership. Camp II, for ages 11-through-15, will be held from noon until 4:30pm each day from Monday, July 11th through Friday, July 15th, for a cost of $160.
Camp III, for ages 13-through-18, is slated to run from noon until 4:30pm each day from Monday, July 25th through Friday, July 29th, for a cost of $160.
During Camps I and II, students will focus on Asia as they create and explore printmaking, marbleized paper and bookmaking, Zodiac batik, shadow puppets, mosaics, sculpture, painting, and mixed media. They will also examine cultural symbolism, consumption and consumerism, and everything Zen as themes.
For Camp III, students will focus on developing their own style as they create art in more of an open-studio environment. This camp will have less focus on culture and more on taking information given to them and create original work from these concepts. Teens will explore printmaking, painting, sculpture, mixed media, glass arts, bookmaking and Zodiac batik.
On the final day of each of the weeks, beginning at 2:30pm, campers' friends and family members are invited to attend a reception during which they can view work created throughout the camp.
To register for camps or for more information, call ARS Arts & Culture Center at 269-277-5090 or 269-208-4409, or click this link: http://www.arsartsandculture.org
