Art Academy is our after-school arts program designed for students who are interested in exploring and developing their artistic aptitude. Throughout each six week session, students engage with the visual arts through looking, discussing and making. They can expect to work in multiple mediums, both 2D and 3D, including painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, photography, printmaking, and mixed media. Art Academy helps students develop strong visual literacy and critical thinking skills. It also supports social and emotional development, increases manual dexterity, broadens understanding and appreciation of other cultures and histories, and gives students the opportunity to problem solve and make mistakes in a low stakes environment. Not to mention we have a lot of fun! For the 6-10 year old cohort, each session has a guiding theme (like artists from a certain geographical region, or art from a certain time period, or art that is somehow related to music or animals) and each class yields a "final" work or project that is shared and discussed. For the 11-14 year old students, the focus shifts to project based instruction with an emphasis on skill building and there is often a collaborative element that requires students to ideate and co-create together.

 Instructor:
Art educator Jen Johnson holds an undergraduate degree in art history and English literature from the University of Kansas, as well as an MAT (Masters in the Art of Teaching) from the English Department at the University of Montana. In her own practice, Jen is equally invested in understanding the larger world through her interactions with the art objects of others and the making of her own art objects. Jen considers her greatest strengths as an educator to be the facilitation of reflective and critical conversations about art and art making, as well as the creation of safe environments for authentic explorations into the practices of self-expression and making. Her preferred mediums are mixed media, printmaking, and photography, but she enjoys the act of creation no matter the medium and considers it one of her greatest joys to make art alongside others.

Course Type:
6 weeks; class meets once a week for 1.5 hours

Dates: 

6-10 yrs: Tuesday, August 25- Tuesday, September 29, 3:30pm - 5:00pm

6-10 yrs: Wednesday, August 26- Wednesday, September 30, 3:30pm - 5:00pm

11-14 yrs: Thursday, August 27- Thursday, October 1, 4:30pm - 6:00pm

Tuition:
$100.00

*Refunds will not be given if cancellation is made less than a week before the beginning of the session. If Prairie cancels a class, a makeup class will be offered. Makeup classes are not offered to students who miss a class.