Camps and Residencies

Looking for a program during school out and breaks?  Now. Make. Art. has you covered!

By focusing on process art experiences rather than the product, students not only get the proven benefits found with art making, but build confidence, problem solving, and independent thinking. These programs are designed to help students in dreaming and envisioning the future, something desperately needed in our current world.

We’ve worked with a number of schools and organizations in the Twin Cities to provide engaging process based art programs for students. We can base programming off our existing popular events or dream up something just for you!

Camps

Now. Make. Art. hosts a variety of camps for school out days and breaks. Camps can be half or full day, one day or multiple days. Click on the links below to learn more about each option.

Residencies

All residencies will be tailored to your school and needs.  Residencies allow teaching artists the opportunity to build deeper relationships with students. Click on the link below to learn more about residencies.

Half Day Mini Camps

Half day camps bring our events to the classroom, where students can create together.

2- 4 hours, single day
Can be designed for ages 3 and up

Programming can include:

  • CLAY CITY - Students start by experimenting with clay and materials.  As students begin to build pieces for their collective city, themes emerge.

  • Cardboard Invention Convention - Students get to work dreaming up and creating solutions to real world problems out of cardboard, individually or in groups. 

  • Color X - Students start by experimenting with creating custom colors with chalk, adding to a large collective mural. 

  • Garbage Friends - Using recycled materials, students create characters and puppets from everyday objects.

Full day camps include delving deeper into programming topics, including the use of creative drama, storytelling, and presenting. Programming provides spaces for flexibility as students are encouraged to lead and explore their interests.  

Full Day Mini Camps

5-7 hours, single day
Includes breaks
Can be designed for ages 3 and up

Programming can include:

  • CLAY CITY - Students start by experimenting with clay and materials.  As students begin to build pieces for their collective city, themes emerge.  Students create a shared narrative about their city that evolves as more pieces are added.

  • Cardboard Invention Convention - Students delving into what problems we’d like to solve and discussions of how it can be done. Students then get to work dreaming up and creating solutions out of cardboard, individually or in groups.  When finished, they have the opportunity to hold a Convention and share their creations!

  • Color X - Students start by experimenting with creating custom colors with chalk.  Then, the class comes together to decide on a unique creation for the colors.  Previous examples include a museum, book, etc.

  • Garbage Friends - Using recycled materials, students create characters and puppets from everyday objects.  Afterwards, students use storytelling and creative drama to build a backstory for all their new friends.

Week long camps take the best parts of all our events so students can explore different materials and art processes each day. Programming provides spaces for flexibility as students are encouraged to lead. Teaching artists build relationships with students and support classes to explore their interests. For example, if students begin working in clay and would like to continue to explore it, Teaching Artists can adjust the schedule to continue clay exploration. They are tailored to student ages and development.

Week Long Camps

Half or full days, 4 or 5 days long
Includes breaks
Can be designed for ages 3 and up

Programming can include:

  • Storytime Adventures- Using books as inspiration, students are invited to explore stories through play, creative drama, and process art. Each day, colorful picture books provide a theme. Teaching artists invite students to explore characters and settings by moving their bodies through creative drama scenarios. Investigations will include sensory adventures with mixed media art materials including pastels, watercolor, collage, fabric, paint and more.

    • Best for ages 7 and up

  • Imagining Community- Young artists will imagine cities of the future by examining their own communities and what we all need to be happy, healthy, and connected creating with a wide variety of art mediums including paper collage, 3D cardboard, and sculpted clay! Each day they will explore new materials with individual and collective making prompts. 

    • Best for ages 3-7

All residencies will be tailored to your school or organization and needs.  Residencies allow teaching artists the opportunity to build deeper relationships with students. 

Residences

They can be:

  • Focused on one single grade or multiple grades

  • Based on one central theme that develops over multiple visits or unique experiences each visit

  • Varied in length from 1 day to multiple weeks

  • Designed for ages 3 and up

Programming can include:

  • CLAY CITY- Over the course of multiple visits, classrooms and school communities envision what kind of community they want to make.  Each classroom adds their creations to a larger collective city

  • Imagining Community- Using multiple creative processes, students explore what it means to collectively create.

  • Cardboard Invention Convention- Students engage in a design-thinking framework creating cardboard solutions to big & small problems

Sample schedule 1- CLAY CITY:
3 visits with selected classrooms

  • Visit 1- Collaborative brainstorm and sketching around what our larger city can look like

  • Visit 2- Students work with clay to build their creations

  • Visit 3- Students finalize their pieces and begin adding them to the collective city

Sample schedule 2- Imagining Community:
3 visits with selected classrooms

  • Visit 1- Students mold, poke, and build with clay to add to an evolving city

  • Visit 2- Students blend chalk into custom colors they name and add to a collective mural

  • Visit 3- Students engage in a design-thinking framework creating cardboard solutions to big & small problems

Sample schedule 3- Cardboard Invention Convention:
4 visits with selected classrooms

  • Visit 1- Students learn about the design process and discuss historical inventions while beginning to brainstorm what they’d like to invent.

  • Visit 2- Students sketch their inventions and start prototyping their creation

  • Visit 3- Students work on bringing their ideas to life through cardboard

  • Visit 4- Students finalize inventions and hold a Convention to share their work