Flyer by Naomi Rose @na0mir0se
Summer Arts Camps at Rhizome, in Takoma! Be creative, learn something new, make new friends, have a blast! These will be small, friendly, relaxed camps facilitated by working artists. The focus will be on creative collaboration and open-minded engagement with the subject matter in a fun, zero-pressure environment. Fees include all materials.
Email info@rhizomedc.org with questions.
Scholarships available if the cost is a burden. We can also offer a sibling discount of 20%.
Registration form HERE.
June 26-30 * 9am-4pm * Summer Art Experiments * $420 * Ages 8-12 [FULL / WAITLIST]
Campers will explore various media drawing from the season and our environment for inspiration. They may make found-object faces after a wander outside, try making sun prints on a clear day, and melted watercolor paintings on a rainy one. Campers will play collaborative art games like pass the portrait as well as build on their own individual projects throughout the week. Experiments will include traditional art materials like oil pastels or charcoal, as well as more unconventional mark makers such as fruit juice or sticks from the yard. We will look at subjects in the summer light to spark ideas and make new things - the rainbows in a sprinkler or soap bubbles floating past. Instructor: Caroline MacKinnon
July 5-7 (3 days) * 9am-4pm * Inspiring Art [Field Trips] * $250 * Ages 10-14 [FULL / WAITLIST]
Campers will observe selected works of art in museums in Washington, DC, then return to Rhizome to work on their own related projects. They will try out different techniques such as block printing, assemblage and abstract painting, sharing ideas and at times collaborating on projects. Campers will need a prepaid MetroCard. Instructor: Caroline MacKinnon
July 10-14 * 9am-noon * Expressive Games * $210 * Ages 8-10 [can combine with PM camp and stay through lunch]
Calling kids 8-10 who are ready for innovative, expressive play. Come play circle games, clapping games, movement games, collaborative games, weird, old, new, and cool games, and even some Capture the Flag. (Some games involve balls but this is not a sports camp.) Instructor: Anna Josephson
July 10-14 * 12:30-4:30pm * Hand Puppets * $250 * Ages 8-14 [can combine with AM camp and stay through lunch]
Hand Puppets are a fantastic introduction to all theater, especially puppetry. This camp includes (not all at once!) drawing, recyclables, papier mache, sanding, painting, gluing, sewing, wigging, costume, music, props, and plenty of expression. Hand puppetry is one of the very few styles of puppetry that allows a single puppeteer to have more than one character onstage at the same time. Instructor: Rachel Gates
July 17-21 * 9am-3pm * Outsider Artists * $360 * Ages 10-13
We'll learn about this term and how it differs from Folk Art while exploring the work of self-taught artists whose creations come from a place of visionary self-expression and exist outside of the biases, conventions, and trends of the traditional art world. We'll take inspiration from their work and take risks making unconventional paintings, assemblages, and sculpture. Socialization and outdoor time will also be prioritized. Instructor: Kanchan Balsé
July 24-28 * 9am-3pm * Activist Art * $360 * Ages 10-13
We'll read about and look at the work of artists who create change in the world. Campers will identify issues they're passionate about and find creative ways to educate and inspire others around these topics. Media explored will include printmaking, sticker and T-shirt making, and a group mural. Socialization and outdoor time will also be prioritized. Instructor: Kanchan Balsé
July 31 - August 4 * 10am-4pm * Field Trip Camp * $360 * Ages 10-13
We'll go to the NGA, AAM, Tudor House, and other foot or metro-accessible destinations to practice the age-old ways of the flaneur/flaneuse, the urban roamer: art-viewing, nature-bathing, and people-watching, all with notebook/sketchbook in hand. All participants will get a notebook/sketchbook but should bring their own favorite writing instruments, a loaded metro card, water, and lunch. Instructor: Anna Josephson
August 7-11 * 9am-3pm * Graphic Novel Camp * $360 * Ages 10-14 [FULL / WAITLIST]
Local cartoon artist Nami Oshiro and local story writer Anna Josephson team up to bring Graphic Novel Camp to Rhizome. Camp combines story craft and illustration to support campers as they create their own graphic novels. Daily routine will include graphic novel reading, sharing, and shared analysis, as well as creative writing and drawing, storyboarding, and project composition. Breaks or off-site work sessions will take us to the parks within a few blocks of Rhizome, weather permitting. Instructors: Nami Oshiro, Anna Josephson
August 21-25 * 9am-4pm * SculptureStories * $420 * Ages 8-12
Using narrative to drive their creations, campers will expand their ideas about sculpture through individual projects and collaborative play. Campers will work together on projects such as a cardboard city or recycled world and play sculpture-based games. Trying out materials like plaster cloth or papier mache, campers will dream up, design and create their own fantastic creatures, utilizing several steps along the way. Instructor: Caroline MacKinnon
About the facilitators:
Kanchan Balsé is a teaching artist and curriculum developer with over 20 years of experience working with children in and around DC. She uses a variety of media in her own art and in her work with children and adults. Her classes center the work of artists who have been excluded from mainstream art education. Kanchan facilitates fun, inclusive, and inspiring experiences where students gain the confidence to develop their unique visual voice.
Rachel Anthonisen Gates is an award winning puppeteer who founded Rhizome Puppet Lab, now in its third year. She is also an educator for MCPS (Stonegate Elementary School), and a parent in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Anna Josephson is a homeschooling parent in the District. She grew up in Alaska, where she received Socratic seminar education starting at age 12. She is a published author currently shopping her first novel. "Anna’s class turned my reluctant writer into a storyteller. In addition to producing a 75 page story in the class, she has started on the sequel and has three to four other stories in various stages of production. Writing has become her favorite thing to do."
Caroline MacKinnon is a parent, artist and educator who lives in Takoma Park, MD. She teaches ceramics classes to children and adults at the Takoma Park Community Center. She also holds art workshops for small groups in area schools and has previously run arts camps at Rhizome. She likes meeting people, making art and collecting things.
Nami Oshiro is an artist based in the Washington DC-Metro area. She attended the Corcoran College of Art + Design, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Art in Fine Art in 2012. She has been publishing her own comics independently since 2013, while her first professionally-published comic book is scheduled to be released by Holiday House in 2023.