Hardy Gallery of Door County Hosts an Another Successful Art Camp

Facilitators Kalen Keir and Donna Brown lead the children in a theater game.

Ephraim’s Hardy Gallery completed another successful Art Camp, held in conjunction with Gibraltar School’s Migrant Education Program. The program takes place annually during a three-week period in July and August, when a large group of migrant farm workers arrive in Door County to help harvest the peninsula’s massive cherry crop.

The Hardy’s involvement with the Migrant Education Program dates back to the early 2000s. “Through the Hardy’s Art Camp component of the program, we’re ensuring that children traveling with their families are given the same opportunities to engage in the arts that their peers do,” said Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, executive director for the Hardy. Participants in the Art Camp program range in age from 9 – 13, with several of the students having been attendees in previous years.

This year’s Art Camp curriculum focused on stimulating creativity through the art of storytelling. Donna Brown and Kalen Keir, Art Camp facilitators, introduced games, stories, and other exercises to create a safe environment for individual expression.

One activity, the creation of shadow puppets, was used to teach artistic aspects such as positive and negative space, figure drawing, and color. The students also took a field trip to the Hardy Gallery, where they chose a piece of art featured in the Hardy’s 2011 Collection Invitational exhibit and wrote a story about the piece.

The Hardy Gallery is located on Ephraim’s Anderson Dock and is open Tuesday – Sunday from 10 am – 5 pm, with extended hours from 10 am – 8 pm on Mondays. For more information call 920.854.2210 or visit http://www.thehardy.org.