Chattanooga’s Art Camps:

5 good reasons to sign up!

By Laurie Perry Vaughen

Photo courtesy Hunter Museum of American Art and Erin Noseworthy.

1. It is fun! Summer seems to lend itself to new experiences outside the traditional classroom. Even as adults we look forward to ‘getting away’ from the mundane. But even so, the words art, theater or music can be intimidating to a kid. However getting to paint, pretend in a play, build a sculpture or drum, or play with clay might be more helpful and descriptive for a child. While your child may be good at many things, affirm those interests that they gravitate towards. Remember, some kids (and I have one of these) may resist ANYTHING new and different at first, so be prepared to explain to your child what kinds of activities they will actually get to do and keep the enthusiasm and pressure low key.

2. We all learn by doing. Give your child permission to try something new and nurture the important skill of being a life-long learner. No one becomes a potter unless someone invited them to sit down in front of a wheel and get their hands muddy. No one learns musical theory without holding a drum stick, lifting a fiddle to their chin or exploring the range of a keyboard or their own breath for the first time. In a world that is changing constantly and in a world where we are often all too passive, we need to invest in healthy opportunities of personal expression, hands-on skills that build self-esteem and the ability to walk into a room of strangers and make new friends.

3. Unplugged. Summer camps give kids a way to explore the real world, not their usual virtual habitats. Most camps do not allow iPods, iPhones, Nintendo DS, TV, Kindles, Nooks or laptops. That’s a good thing. (This is also why I recommend adults unplug as well and go to camp too by taking an adult drawing class at the studios of Townsend Atelier on Main, a movement class at Barking Legs or get involved with the many individual or group instrument and songwriting classes at the Folk School.)

4. Skills and confidence. Performing and visual art camps and academies during the summer provide access to professional working artists in the community who are also great teachers. They offer first experiences, or allow a child with strong skills to go deep into their craft. Participants get insight into theater costume collections, stage lighting or the power of gesture in interpreting a character. They may get to pick up an unfamiliar musical instrument, or find a musical mentor to help them advance. They may get to work in an art studio surrounded by exhibits of masters and emerging artists that inspire or dance on a real stage. One day, these skills and experiences may follow them to an audition at a local school or help prepare them for a college scholarship.

The Hunter Museum of American Art is a great place to meet new friends and explore new worlds.

5. Great deal for parents. Like me, you may work outside the home full-time and have a limited summer vacation schedule. Day camps and classes provide a way for kids of all ages to create great summer memories and have a good time with friends while in a positive environment. Camps are more affordable than you may think and many offer scholarships as part of their outreach mission. When you pay for an art camp, you are also supporting local working artists and great community cultural programs. As birthdays and holidays roll around, suggest that relatives pool their gift-giving budgets to underwrite a positive art camp experience for your child. After all, do they really need more ‘stuff’ or a generic gift card? If you get an art camp coupon, have your child follow-up with a photo, DVD or work of art work to thank the person who made the experience possible. I will tell you, it has taken a wonderful village and a great summer patchwork quilt of local camps to raise my two children as a single parent. Camps are memorable.

Laurie Perry Vaughen is a senior technical writer at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and is the mother of two veteran summer art campers, Lorna and Jared who attend Normal Park Museum Magnet.

Highlights of local camp programs.

What’s new and what’s hot this summer:

If your child is not ready to commit to a particular instrument or sure they want to take private lessons, the Folk School of Chattanooga is a great next step. They offer small group lessons for beginners that take away the intimidation factor for a young person or a person of any age, explains Christie Burns, co-founder and co-director. Entering its second summer season, a varied roster of classes are available for all ages and regular social events and performances for families are promoted through their e-newsletter and network. New this year are three of kids camp at the recently restored historic Fire Hall in St. Elmo, July 25, 26, 27 for ages 6-12 as part of a larger “Folk Stomp” event taking place those three days.  To learn more and get connected on their concerts and classes at chattanoogafolk.com.

One of the most popular art camps for 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional work is a partnership between the Association for Visual Artists and Baylor School. They offer one of the most varied age-appropriate schedules of classes and each one is taught by professional artists. This year, Anna Louise Haynes Myers, the art teacher at the award-winning Normal Park Museum Magnet will offer several classes in the program. Other instructors include Dennis Palmer, Sarah Cardillo Nichols and her mother, Maria Cardillo, Kimerlen Moore, Doug Boals and Eric Keller. AVA members and Baylor families, or those taking two sessions or with two children get a nice discount. Half-day and full-day sessions are available.

The Bessie Smith Cultural Center has been offering a summer art program for over twenty years, notes Carmen Davis, director of education at the center. They offer kids a 6-week Summer Art Fun Factory in visual and performing arts. Scholarships are still available for eligible students.

The Hunter Museum of American Art is offering nine unique art camps this summer for children ages 4 to 12. The programs are designed to be age appropriate, so you can be sure, whether you have an ‘art tot,’ a ‘mini-master’ or a ‘junior artist’ they will have fun and learn new skills. The Hunter’s full and half-day program options are in great demand and fill up fast, so register early. In addition to hands-on art experiences they intentionally involve kids in fitness activities such as field trips and walks to local parks and attractions from their scenic setting on the Tennessee Riverpark. Each week of camp closes with an Art Exhibition where campers share their hard work and creativity with family and friends. Student-designed camp t-shirts are also provided.

“The essence of theatre is telling a story,” says Chuck Tuttle with the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. “Our program helps young people learn how to create a story and perform it for an audience.” The 2011 Summer Academy at the Theatre Centre offers classes for rising kindergarten students through 12^th grade. Each age group will collaborate on projects that culminate in a presentation on the last week of classes. So parents and other family members and friends can celebrate the experience. Older students in grades 4 through 12 can choose acting fundamentals, comedy, acting Shakespeare, play writing, directing, and interpreting a script for a live performance. In July, the Performance Training Academy session is an intensive three-week program that gives students that chance to take a classic story and perform this using theatrical styles from around the world and various periods in history. If your child loves the theatre, register for this one. It will fill up quickly. Tuttle compares these academies to a ‘summer stock event,’ where young actors are engaged in the production at a fast pace and find creative ways to reuse ‘stock’ or existing company sets and costumes. The Chattanooga Theatre Centre also hosts a Dance Academy directed by choreographer Lindsay Fussell that offers beginning and intermediate exposure to all sorts of movement techniques drawing from jazz, tap, salsa, hip-hop, swing and theatre.

Other dance programs are offered periodically by artistic director and choreographer Ann Law at Barking Legs Theater and Ballet Tennessee. This summer, Ballet Tennessee’s artistic director Anna Baker-VanCura is offering two, three-week ‘youth intensives.’ Advanced audition is required for these sessions.

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Local art contacts:

AVA Art Camp at Baylor School
AVA: 30 Frazier Ave.
423.265.4282

www.avarts.org

Barking Legs Theatre

Ann Law

1307 Dodds Ave.
423.624-5347

www.barkinglegs.org

Bessie Smith Cultural Center
200 E. ML King Blvd.
423.266.8588

www.bessiesmithcc.org

Ballet Tennessee
Anna Baker VanCura
Barry VanCura

3202 Kelly’s Ferry Road

423.821.2055
www.ballettennessee.org

Chattanooga Theatre Centre
400 River St.

423.267.8534

www.theatrecentre.com

Folk School of Chattanooga
Christie Burns or Matt Evans

250 Forrest Ave.
423.827.8906

www.chattanoogafolk.com/kids/

Hunter Museum of American Art

Erin Noseworthy

10 Bluff View

423.752-2051

www.huntermuseum.org

Townsend Atelier
Peggy and Stan Townsend

201 West Main St.

423.266.2712

www.townsendatelier.com

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