Summer arts camp planned

Jan. 18—A free arts camp this summer at the Alabama Center for the Arts will expose high school students to numerous art forms and, organizers hope, entice the students to enroll in the center after high school.

"This year we are focusing on studio art," said Kim Parker, Calhoun Community College dean of Fine Arts and executive director of the Alabama Center for the Arts. "We're calling it The Art Buffet because students will get a little taste of multiple types of art."

Parker said classes at The Project Summer Arts Camp, open by application to 15- through 19-year-olds, will include painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry making, mixed media, millinery and more.

"We are focusing on studio arts because we saw that, for the majority of past years, studio arts were a supplementary focus. It is time to make them the primary focus," said Jax Vadney, visual communications instructor and Calhoun's chair of Fine Arts.

The goal, Vadney said, is to expose the high school students to multiple art forms.

There will be two tracks at the camp this year.

"One track, which I am leading, will allow students to study and create mosaics, millinery and mixed media projects," Vadney said. "Our second track, led by Athens State University art professor Jamie Adams, will have students learn and create hand-built ceramics, wheel-thrown pottery and zines." A zine is similar to a magazine, created using collage techniques.

This will be The Project's sixth year.

"Last year, Project 2023 was the School of Rock, which had tracks in vocal performance and editing," Vadney said. "The camp culminated in a rock show, with a fully produced music video and original screen-printed T-shirts."

Parker said the camp is a combined effort of Calhoun and Athens State and that professors from both schools will teach the classes.

"We want students who attend The Project to walk away with a love of the arts as well as an understanding of what it feels like to be an arts student at the ACA," she said. "We want them to be able to see themselves as college students, and we want to give them the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and creative space."

Vadney said she is excited about the two-week camp.

"It is an opportunity for students to explore new art forms, all while having our faculty guide and mentor them," she said.

She said she knows from visiting high schools that many students do not have the opportunity to explore the types of studio art planned for the camp.

"I hope they find new inspiration, grow in confidence in their own skills as young artists, become more passionate about creating art, and hopefully think about how they can follow their passion in the arts to a future career as an artist — and hopefully that brings them back to the ACA as future students in our fine art programs," Vadney said.

Parker said the camp will run June 3 through 7 and June 10 through 14. She said any student from anywhere, aged 15 to 19 years old, can apply for the free camp.

"Applications will go live on The Project and ACA Facebook pages within the next week," Parker said, and paper copies of the applications are being delivered to schools throughout north Alabama.

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.