June 17, 2011
The Coleman Center for the Arts (CCA) held its first two week all-day summer camp in June 2011. Fifteen students from Sumter County between the ages of 8 and 19 were invited to “Be a Character” as they experimented in visual arts, music, animation, gardening and cooking.
Through hourly sessions, campers investigated what it means to be, create, and become a character. Younger campers created puppets with distinct personalities that were used in impromptu puppet shows in the final reception. Throughout the week they experimented with costumes and props in self portrait projects that served as the impetus for writing short stories. Older campers crafted detailed and unique alter egos, and they used hand-made paper characters to create short stop-motion films.
Campers learned a variety of songs including old American songs of the rail road, contemporary gospels, and Indian ragas. Through this wide range of music traditions, campers learned not only new songs but also new ways of singing and learning music.
Every day, campers helped make lunch using ingredients from the CCA’s One Mile Garden. They learned to identify plants, harvest ingredients, and prepare a meal for 20.
The diversity of lessons offered at Summer Camp was made possible by the creativity and dedication of camp instructors: Shana Berger, John Brown, Jocelyn Edens, Garland Farwell, Frances Goodwin, Nathan Purath, Catherine Shelton, Samita Sinha and Kanita Sturdivant.
On the last day, campers were invited to bring family and friends to a camp celebration. Self-portraits, alter egos, puppets and animations were on display in the CCA gallery, and campers performed some of the many songs they had learned. Check out the camp blog for photos of camp and the camp celebration.
This program was made possible by support from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Black Belt Community Foundation, the Alabama Arts License Tag Committee, MAPP International Productions, Americorps VISTA, the University of West Alabama, and the generous contributions of our individual supporters.