Mississippi College announced on Apr. 2 that its Department of Art will offer a range of summer art camps for children and teenagers, as well as monthly community art classes for adults, at the Aven Fine Arts Building and Gore Arts Complex on the Clinton campus.
The programs are designed to help participants learn new artistic skills through hands-on experiences led by MC faculty. Organizers say these offerings also strengthen ties between the college and local residents.
Nate Jarnagin, administrative assistant in the Department of Art, said, “These camps and classes provide community members an opportunity to learn art skills.” He added that each day allows participants “to make art and learn something about art in a hands-on, practical way. It’s not a bunch of lectures: MC art faculty demonstrate how to do a technique, then the students put it into practice. It’s a great way to develop artistic skill.”
Jarnagin described the camps as beneficial for recruitment efforts. “The camps plant the seed that, if art is something a student wishes to pursue, MC is the place to do it,” he said. “Teenagers who learn digital illustration or photography at camp discover that MC is a great place to continue learning after they finish high school.”
The Young Artists Camp will run from June 22-25 for rising second-to-sixth graders at the Gore Arts Complex (GAC), with activities ranging from ceramics and sculpture to painting and printmaking. The fee is $150 per participant.
For older students in grades seven through twelve, Teen Summer Art Camp offers morning sessions in digital illustration or photography at Aven Fine Arts Building and afternoon sessions in acrylic painting, ceramics or pastels at GAC during those same dates. Registration costs $200 per session or $350 for both.
Adults can join monthly Saturday classes taught by faculty such as Ray Gregory (wheel-thrown ceramics), Anthony Thaxton (watercolor), Elisa Payne (printmaking), Randy Miley (papermaking), Albert Smathers (oil painting), and Chase Quarterman (drawing). Each class includes materials with fees set at $150.
More information about registration can be found at art.mc.edu/events.