Cultural creativeness: OMFA kicks off 20th season of free art camps

Young creatives filled the lobby of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art on Tuesday as the institution kicked off the first of its 2024 free art camp series for children between the ages of 6 to 15.

The four-day camp, “Cultural Crafts Camp I,” which is split up into morning and afternoon sessions based on age groups, aims to have students explore crafts from other cultures such as Russian nesting dolls, Mexican maracas, Japanese lanterns and African masks, with students having different experiences each day with a variety of media led by local artists and educators.

Mary Bryan Hood, OMFA’s director, and Jason Hayden, the museum’s assistant director and development officer, said this marks the 20th season of the organization offering the art camps — a milestone both are proud of.

“We think it is a remarkable accomplishment,” Hood said.

“We’re fortunate to have the ability to do this for the community,” Hayden said.

“We feel that it is very important that the community’s children, especially, are (getting exposed) to the visual arts ….”

Hood said the concept of the free art camps began when the museum was first established in the late 1970s, with the “first method of operation” being a partnership with the Owensboro Parks & Recreation Department.

“We would often hold the camps in the parks and then sometimes move them to the museum,” she said, “and then it became more convenient for the kids, and for the art and for everything just to have (the camps) in the museum.”

Hayden said the art camps often reflect the current exhibition on display at the museum, with “Cultural Crafts Camp I” honoring “Cultural Perspectives” — a showcase of more than 75 works of art from over two dozen artists highlighting “parallels in the achievements of contemporary artists from diverse cultural backgrounds” sponsored by Owensboro Health, according to a press release.

The students also received a guided tour of the current museum exhibition.

Tuesday saw the students work on their own Russian nesting dolls, which Hayden said began in 1890 “that was designed as a children’s toy.”

For 11-year old Toby Miller, who was in attendance for his first art camp at the museum, he was excited about the subject matter.

“I always admired the Russian nesting dolls. I’ve always liked them,” he said.

“I thought it was always just a cool thing. … You think it’s one thing, but then it’s 16.”

Miller said deciding to attend the camp was based on his existing interest in art.

“I like to doodle, and draw and just like to do some art in my spare time …,” he said. “I like doing ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ drawings, and I like doing DC Comics ones … and stuff like that.”

Mercy Rose Tanner has been attending the camps for a decade and has created a number of bonds along the way while also gaining knowledge of other mediums and styles.

“... I met a lot of people that make me keep coming back,” Tanner, 14, said. “... Each year has been a great learning opportunity.”

Tanner has since expanded her horizons by entering art competitions, finding a love in multimedia art and focusing on her efforts in traditional watercolor painting.

“This place inspired me to keep going,” Tanner said.

Hood and Hayden said having the students learn the hands-on aspect of making art while being taught about the cultures and histories of where the projects stem from is intentional.

“We have it for them to see, and understand and discuss and then we have it for them to do,” Hood said. “(It’s) very important … (to connect) those two aspects of art education.”

“That’s one of the things that we do at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art: is to teach people about their culture and the culture of others through the collection, preservation, exhibition and interpretation of the visual arts,” Hayden said.

Hayden said half of the seats in the camps are reserved for children affiliated with local social service agencies, if interested, before offering the remaining spots to the general public.

For many years, the series served as the only local fine arts camps specifically designed to reach the community’s financially challenged children.

“The camps fill up fast,” he said. “... We probably have 20 (to) 30 kids on the waiting list.”

Hood said the next camp in the series, “Cultural Crafts Camp II,” will be a continuation of the curriculum of the current camp. It will take place from July 23-26.

“We already are taking reservations for that,” Hood said, “so anyone who wishes to enroll their children in July need to do (so) right away.”

Selected works from both camps will be chosen for display later in the summer in the museum’s Waymond O. Morris Young at Art Gallery.

For those interested in registering their children at the upcoming camp, contact the museum by calling 270-685-3181 or email the museum at [email protected].