Is your young creative ready to be an artist-in-training? Art provokes thought, encourages expression, and brings people together. Camp Art Academy provides the skills your child needs to be the best artist, thinker, collaborator, and storyteller they can be. Come imagine and build with us this summer as we study and practice the elements of artmaking and storytelling!
Camp Art Academy at the AAC is an esteemed six-week, summertime educational experience for rising first through sixth graders. Each week has a unique theme and students can attend one week, all six, or any number in between. At the end of each week, students celebrate their artwork with a gallery opening for friends and family!
Camp will encourage your child’s self-discovery, teamwork, and expression through an award-winning arts education. We believe in the power of hands-on, studio-based & social-emotional learning, which students will practice while being guided by instructors and collaborating with fellow artists. While your young artist is in training, they will learn both classical and experimental techniques across many disciplines including drawing, painting, textile, sculpture, printmaking, illustration, and creative writing. Not only will students have fun applying imagination and creativity each day, but they will also employ skills in science, technology, engineering, art, and math to craft their projects. Students will learn about and take inspiration from artists across the world in addition to notable AAC alumni as they create individual and collaborative art projects.
By the end of Camp Art Academy, young artists will have helped build a creative community, practiced many new techniques and methods with their instructors, learned invaluable life skills, and shared their sense of self and imagination through storytelling.
2026 Dates
WEEK 1 | Characters: Drawing from Life and Imagination…….June 1-5
Drawing is the foundation of visual storytelling, and this week invites young artists to create characters inspired by both real life and imagination. Students will explore line, gesture, and expression as they draw people, animals, and invented figures, learning how marks and movement can communicate emotion and personality. Campers will experiment with a variety of drawing tools and surfaces while practicing observation and imaginative thinking. Projects will be inspired by artists such as Paul Klee and Jean Dubuffet, alongside AAC alumni Charley Harper and Richard F. Outcault, encouraging playful, expressive approaches to character-making.
WEEK 2 | Atmosphere: Space, Mood, and Environment………..June 8-12
How does a space make you feel? This week explores how artists shape environments to create mood and atmosphere. Students will collaborate on installation-based projects, experimenting with scale, balance, light, and material placement as they transform shared spaces. Campers will practice teamwork and creative problem-solving while learning how viewers experience art physically and emotionally. Projects will draw inspiration from artists such as Do Ho Suh and Ann Hamilton, alongside AAC alumni Robert Ladislas Derr and Tony Tasset, highlighting the power of space, environment, and collaboration.
WEEK 3 | Image: Text, Textile, and Photography…………………..June 15-18 (Off on Juneteenth)
This week focuses on storytelling through images that can be seen, read, and touched. Students will combine creative writing with textile processes and introductory photography to create layered works that communicate ideas and stories. Campers will explore fabric, texture, simple photographic techniques, and short written narratives while learning how words and images work together. Inspiration will come from artists such as Faith Ringgold and Lorna Simpson, alongside AAC alumni Petah Coyne and Mary Given Sheerer, encouraging students to think about memory, storytelling, and personal expression.
2-WEEK BREAK
WEEK 4 | Style: Expression and Identity………………………………July 6-10
This week introduces painting as a powerful tool for self-expression and personal style. Students will explore color, brushwork, and composition while experimenting with a range of painting approaches, from expressive abstraction to representational imagery. Campers will learn that there are many ways to paint and many ways to express ideas and emotions. Projects will be inspired by artists such as Howardena Pindell and Jacob Lawrence, alongside AAC alumni Sydney Butchkess and Mary Lee Tate, emphasizing confidence, individuality, and creative voice.
WEEK 5 | Representation: Image and Form…………………………July 13-17
This week invites students to explore how ideas take shape in three dimensions. Campers will experiment with form, proportion, and structure while creating sculptural works inspired by people, animals, and imagined subjects. Using a variety of safe tools and materials, students will practice building, assembling, and problem-solving through hands-on exploration. Projects will be informed by artists such as Barbara Hepworth and Augusta Savage, alongside AAC alumni Louise Abel, Charles Henry Niehaus, and Tom Wesselmann, encouraging curiosity, experimentation, and spatial thinking.
WEEK 6 | Story: Print and Narrative Arts……………………………..July 20-24
Printmaking and storytelling come together this week as students explore how images and words can be shared and repeated to tell stories. Campers will experiment with printmaking techniques while pairing images with creative writing to build visual narratives. Students will learn how sequencing, contrast, and repetition help communicate meaning. Projects will be inspired by artists such as Elizabeth Catlett and José Guadalupe Posada, alongside AAC alumni Kreigh Collins, Edna Boies Hopkins, and Lee Fritz Randolph, highlighting print as an accessible and powerful narrative tool.
Weekly Tuition & Fees
Tuition……………………………..$295
*Optional* Before Care……..$50
*Optional* After Care………..$50
Week 3 is $236 due to the week being shortened by a day in observation of Juneteenth.
Camp Art Academy is held Monday-Friday, 9 AM-3 PM. On Fridays, the exhibition is 3-3:30 PM.
Before Care is available starting at 8 AM and After Care is available until 4 PM.
Schedule
8-9 AM……………………………..Before Care *Optional*
8:45-9:10 AM…………………….Student Drop-Off
9-9:15 AM…………………………Morning Welcome
9:15 AM-12 PM……………….Morning Class
10:30-10:45 AM…………………Morning Snack Break
12-12:30 PM……………………..Lunch
12:30-1 PM……………………….Social-Emotional Learning Activity/ Break
1-2:45 PM………………………Afternoon Class
2:45-3 PM…………………………Classroom Reset + Display Projects
3-3:25 PM………………………Student Pick-Up
3-4 PM………………………………After Care *Optional*
Classroom Details
Classroom 5-8 (Students going into 1st – 3rd grade in Fall 2025)
Classroom 9-12 (Students going into 4th – 6th grade in Fall 2025)
Students who are going into first through sixth grade are welcome to attend. Students must have completed kindergarten or another school-based and full-day program such as Young Fives in order to enroll in Camp Art Academy.
Sometimes exceptions are made for students who are on the cusp of turning 9. For example, a younger nine-year-old may feel more comfortable in the younger classroom and an older eight-year-old may feel more comfortable in the older classroom. Registrations outside of the age limits can be discussed by emailing engagement@artacademy.edu or by calling 513-562-8762.
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Students will sit at work tables with peers close in age and work on art projects with individual attention from their instructors and teaching assistants. Students must be able to use the restroom independently. Anyone requesting an accommodation should email engagement@artacademy.edu.
Students must bring a lunch, water bottle, and snacks with them each day. Please do not pack items containing nuts.
Every Friday, we hold a gallery opening for students and their families. The students’ artwork from that week will be on display. Before leaving, students will collect their work and take it home with them.
Friday Exhibitions 3-3:30 PM
After Care will still be available on Fridays until 4 PM for guardians who cannot make it to the exhibition.
Read our protocols here: Welcome Packet. By signing up for our programs, you and your minor student(s) are agreeing to abide by the rules and policies in the handbook.
Please note that if you are late picking up your student, you will be charged $10 for every 15 minutes you are late.
Questions? Contact the Office of Engagement at engagement@artacademy.edu.
Questions? Contact the Office of Engagement at engagement@artacademy.edu.
Interested in applying for a scholarship? Read more and apply here.
