Everyone is creative. In some it just lies dormant. In others, it is yet to be discovered. We must help children develop individual creativity because it is an important part of the whole person a child is becoming. The body is the physical form of a whole person; creativity is an intrinsic part of each of us. -Sandra Bright, founding Director, GAC
Our Art Camp Programs
Since 1997, Grace Institute’s signature program, Grace Art Camp, has been dedicated to creating awareness through art, culture, and story in a process-oriented environment for children, ages 4-12. Summers consist of a cultural or regional focus consisting of seven one-week long sessions (eight weeks of camp were offered in the summer 2021); 3-day Winter and Spring Break Camps honor seasonal themes of peace and renewal.
Art studios are led by professional artists and offer a variety of experiences and skills in the visual & performance arts, storytelling, fused glass, ceramics, and fibre. High school and college youth lead and support the campers in all activities in a caring and nurturing respectful way. Studio projects are often process-oriented, and activities are inspired by the “story of the week” culminating in a weekly celebration to honor the community cultivated over the course of the week together.
By fostering a collaborative and diverse community, children and staff alike have the opportunity to discover something about their purpose in the world. Grace Art Camp was developed around the premise that inherent within the creative process there are opportunities to create awareness, understanding, and compassion for ourselves and all humans everywhere. Through this process we can encourage each other to be curious, responsible, and compassionate, and to honor each other’s gifts as we learn to appreciate our differences.
GRACE ART CAMP
Grace Art Camp will learn about Hawaii in 2024! Check back soon for stories and dates. Registration opens February 28 at 10:00 am. Camper tuition for a full week of camp will be $415 for 5-day sessions and $275 for 3-day sessions. Scholarships are available.
During each summer, Art Camp brings a cultural focus for campers to learn about the people and traditions of a different region of the world, through the universal language of stories and art. Campers attend a single one-week session that is designed for children from Pre-K through 6th grade (or 12 years of age); younger campers must be 4 years of age by March 1 of the year attending camp, and accustomed to a full-day program.
SPRING BREAK CAMP
Held on March 25, 26 and 27 in 2024, this 3-day camp features a Chinese and Korean tale, retold by Storyteller Will Hornyak. Campers rotate through artist-led studios, enjoying projects from visual arts, fibre arts, podcasting, music and more. Spring Break Camp is is designed for campers ages 6 through 12. Registration begins January 31.
WINTER PEACE CAMP
Held during the Winter Break for Portland Public Schools, this 3-day camp encourages us all to seek peace in this season of celebration — and also to look for opportunities to make peace as well as find peace in surprising places. Through story and art, campers explore the concepts and qualities necessary for peace. Inspired by a winter-themed story, campers rotate through artist-led studios, exploring theatre & storytelling, visual arts, fibre arts, fused glass and more. Designed for children ages 6 through 12.
Camp Activities
The larger summer Grace Art Camp’s 5-day camp routine includes daily studio choices spread out over the week; the smaller 3-day Spring and Peace Camps follow a condensed format where campers stay together in color groups rotating through two studios each day. Youth and young adult counselors provide leadership and role modeling for campers and include songs and games. We all sing and practice the “Four R’s” of Community: respect, responsibility, resourcefulness, and receptivity. Just ask any camper to sing “The Four Rs of Community”.
What a day of summer camp typically looks like …
We have two to three assemblies each day, creating a loving, respectful and supportive community.
8:45 – Campers gather in their assigned color groups for sign-in
9:05 – Morning Assembly–our ritual for beginning each day with greetings, music, singing, story-telling, and daily studio presentations
10:00 – Morning Studio, including a snack
11:30 – Lunch/recess and Midday Assembly bringing everyone back together for songs and special guests
1:00 pm – Afternoon Studios
2:45 – Campers rejoin their color groups for Afternoon Assembly and the day’s sharing
3:00 – Parents sign their children out for the day
The weekly routine for week long camps. . .
Monday – Tuesday
Campers rotate with their “Color Group” through eight of the art studios to get a taste for different media. Campers get to know each other and connect with their Color Counselors, learn songs, and play community-building games.
Wednesday – Friday
One of the hallmarks of Grace Art Camp has always been the opportunity for campers to choose what studio they would like to participate in each day and what they would like to do. Each morning, the older campers choose their “AM” and “PM” studios. Learning how to make a choice and what to do when one’s first choice is no longer available are invaluable skills to develop and an important part of the camp experience. Being creative and resourceful can happen in a variety of ways!
Friday
Every camp program culminates into a celebratory tribute to the community cultivated over the week. Families are invited and encouraged to gather with us for the Celebration at 2:40 pm. Since camp’s inception this ritual has continued to evolve as an important closure to each week of camp.
Color Groups
Color Groups help us manage a secure daily sign-in and sign-out process as well as their art work and ensures an equitable age range of campers each week. Campers are divided into roughly grade-equivalent peer groups of about 22-24 campers (less in the smaller 3 day camps), two+ counselors, and 1-2 CITs.
For friends assigned to different color groups, other than Orange, campers can join each other during lunch, recess, and studio times — Wednesday-Friday, campers choose and attend two daily studios whereby connecting with other campers from different color groups and ages. Color Groups remain together solely for Monday and Tuesday’s Studio Orientation schedule, the T-Shirt Studio, and for the Sign-In and Sign-Out process.
Your child’s color group assignment will be emailed to you the week before your registered and confirmed week of camp. The exact age-range for each color group varies from week to week as ages and grades fluctuate weekly depending upon any given week’s unique enrollment demographic.
Friends may request to be in the same color group at the time of registration and must be in the same grade or one above/below by January 1 of the year they attend camp together. Only one mutual friend request per camper may be considered.
The Orange Color Group, also known as “Pod”
The younger campers (pre-K through K) are assigned to the Orange group and led by an experienced early childhood education professional. When Grace Art Camp celebrated Pacific Northwest cultures 20+ years ago, the term “Pod” was used for this youngest group of campers after a pod of Orca whales, and the name has endearingly stuck ever since.
Pod has a routine designed specifically for young children and young Grace Art Camp first-timers. Their schedule and routine gives them the opportunity to partake in every art studio throughout the week without being overwhelmed. They have lunch and recess together as a single smaller group. Pod joins the other Color groups for all Camp Assemblies which include story-time, singing, sharing, and special presentations.
For more information, please also check these additional page links:
Grace Institute 