Art camp offers culture, creativity
Jul. 8—Creative minds were flowing Thursday at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art during the facility's second round of free art camps, which are sponsored by Owensboro Grain Company.
After having invited youth to explore a variety of media inspired by the museum's "Artful Connections: Louisville/Owensboro" exhibition — a showcase of cultural connections between both cities — in June, the museum focused its current camp around its upcoming fifth biennial "RIVERARTES V," an exhibition of outdoor sculpture.
Scheduled at the museum between July 30 to Oct. 23, "RIVERARTES V" will feature images and maquettes of public art by sculptors of local, regional and national reputation.
"Each summer, we have two or three art camps — and one is always designated as a tribute to public art," said Mary Bryan Hood, OMFA director. "It was instituted in and about the time that the museum established the public art collection for the city of Owensboro."
"This camp is designed to educate the children about public art by allowing them to help create some monumental pieces of public sculpture," said Jason Hayden, OMFA assistant director and development officer.
Hood said the camp's objective is to teach children about the importance of public art in the city, state and the nation, what it symbolizes and what it takes to make public art.
"Any place we go, there's public art in all cities and in all public areas," Hood said. "It's a nice learning opportunity."
Hayden said this week's camp, which began Tuesday and runs through Friday, is also designed to teach the attendees about Southwest Native American Indian culture with an emphasis on the "kachina" — sculpture that conveys aspects of their traditions, culture and spirituality.
"The museum's mission 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. "Part of the museum's mission is to teach about all cultures, and part of our collection contains kachina from the Southwest Native American tribes."
The students will assist in the creation of public art based on the kachina, with the sculpture to be installed in the museum's Ryan Sculpture Park at the conclusion of the camp.
The students get the opportunity to be creative with their work.
"There's no set design for kachina," Hood said. "It can celebrate or depict anything the maker wishes it to do as long as it's indicative of the culture it's expressing."
Jack Acquisto, 9, of Owensboro, painted his creation based on colors that gave him comfort and inspiration from Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night."
"I always liked (these colors), and they always make me feel relaxed," he said.
Trinity Jones, 13, of Owensboro, has attended one of the museum's camps previously and has had nothing but positive experiences.
"I've been loving it," she said.
"I'm one of the more artsy people in my school. You're going to a museum and learning about the art and culture from the different art pieces in the museum. (We're) learning about history and certain art pieces and doing that certain art piece later."
Rocky Cecil, OMFA staff assistant, finds that the camps offer a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes while the campers are still able to enjoy themselves.
"We just like to give them a sense of what goes into a piece of artwork, how much work there actually is so that they have a better understanding and appreciation of the work itself," Cecil said.
"It's just a place where the kids can have a lot of fun and be exposed to the arts so that they have a greater appreciation for it."
Jones and Acquisto said that being able to be creative can be a great way for people to showcase their emotions and more.
"Art — not just for me, but a lot of people — can help express yourself, express your culture, express what you feel," Jones said.
"You can draw the world and you can practically make it whatever you want."
"I'm learning that anybody can be an artist if they just be themselves," Acquisto said.
