Beginning June 5, the LaGrange Art Museum is set to begin its annual summer art camp for children ages three to 18.

Lauren Oliver, deputy director, said the sessions will be taught by lead teacher Sallie Keith, an art educator from Harris County Schools.

“She’s a certified art teacher and has a lot of great activities planned for the kids to explore different mediums while learning about them,” Oliver said.

“The campers will take a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum and learn about art collections, preservation, curation, exhibition design and the many people needed to keep a museum running all while interacting with the traveling exhibition Highlighting Contemporary Art in Georgia: Picture This.”

She said the different age groups will have different activities, ranging from cyanotypes, photography, painting, drawing and more.

“We love to have the kids in the summer. Usually, it’s kids that are excited about art and happy to be here doing it. You see their faces light up when they learn something, and it’s a great opportunity and accessible for all ages,” Oliver said.

“We do offer a few scholarships if anybody’s interested, but the kids are great and have a lot of fun getting creative.”

The cost of the camp is $100 for children ages three to six and $200 for children ages seven to 18.

Oliver said to be able to promote creativity in the community starting with younger students is important in creating a love of art and making everlasting memories.

“We’ve had summer camps since the 1970s, and this will be our 60th anniversary. We’ve had students come back in their 40s and say, ‘Oh, I remember when I came to camp here’ and that’s the lasting impact we hope to have on all of our students who come through the camp,” Oliver said.

In the LAM’s long history of putting on the camp, Oliver said the best part for her is having the community’s involvement.

“It’s not just the kids, they bring their parents to gain an appreciation of art with them. It’s about sharing my love, through art education with the community, and that’s my goal here at the museum is to do that,” Oliver said.

For more information on LAM’s summer art camp visit https://lagrangeartmuseum.org/summer-camp-2023/.