Whitney Art Camp
Feb 23, 2016

During the week of February 15-19, kids ages 7-10 years joined Whitney educators for our first-ever art camp! Kids spent the week at the Museum, looking, learning, and making art. They roamed the galleries before the Museum opened to the public, exploring works by artists including Alexander calder, Edward Hopper, Lee Krasner, and Stuart Davis. Each child kept a sketchbook for drawing, ideas, and inspiration.

Kids experimented with a variety of art materials and created drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, and collages based on their gallery experiences. They began each day with a prompt to inspire a self-portrait and at the end of the week, the kids made books of their self-portraits. Parents were invited to an exhibition of their work on the last day of camp. The Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director, Adam Weinberg also visited the group, and the campers eagerly showed off their works. Weinberg said that many artists would be inspired by the work that the kids did.

Jamie Rosenfeld, Coordinator of School and Educator Programs summed up the week: “It was fantastic! The kids learned so much about Whitney artists and the art on view and they were able to try their hand at multiple artmaking techniques. They worked on their own, in pairs, and in groups for collaborations. I was so impressed by how well everyone got along and thrilled by how much they enjoyed the camp. Collaborating with artist and Whitney educator Barbara Ellmann was such a treat! She brought a unique artmaking perspective to the group and offered the campers technical instruction in their painting practice.”

Check out more images of Whitney Art Camp! Photographs by Andrew Kist and Dina Helal.