Lancaster Museum of Art and PCA&D’s CCE pair up to lead summer art camp ‘From Making to Museum’
Monday, May 2nd, 2022
Lancaster Museum of Art and Pennsylvania College of Art & Design’s Center for Creative Exploration (CCE) are partnering on a unique in-person summer art camp for students in Grades 2-6 that uses the museum’s permanent collection not only to teach about what it’s like to work in the museum world, but also to inspire new works of art to be shown in exhibition.
From Making to Museum: A Lancaster Museum of Art and PCA&D Art Camp (July 11-15) makes it possible for the young artists to meet practicing, professional artists, learn about museum careers, and create art which will go on display with pieces from the museum’s collection in an exhibition at Making to Museum’s conclusion. The camp features instructors Abby Saurbaugh and Susan Wheelersburg. Saurbaugh is the Demuth Foundation’s Education & Outreach Coordinator, and Wheelersburg, a practicing artist, is a longtime adjunct instructor with PCA&D’s CCE.
Center for Creative Exploration students hold an exhibition of their work in this Summer 2019 photo.
“We’re excited to provide campers with an intimate museum experience and access to study our collection,” says Abby Baer, Executive Director of the Demuth Foundation and Lancaster Museum of Art. “This unique camp will allow students to understand how museum collections are developed and used to serve the community. We are eager to see how students interpret works by local artists in our collection and how they are inspired in their own creative practice from their encounters with our collection.”
Students in the weeklong Making to Museum camp will be on-site at both Lancaster Museum of Art and Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, an easy 10-minute walk away, and will be escorted between the two locations. At the museum’s morning sessions, they will work directly with artists and other professionals in the field on writing about art, discussing museum careers such as curator and art handler, and choosing a Lancaster Museum of Art piece that will inspire their own artwork. In the afternoon at PCA&D, they will create their own personal artworks which will be displayed in exhibition alongside the museum’s piece which inspired it in the Gallery at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design through late July. The exhibition then travels to the Lancaster City Visitor Center in Penn Square for August First Friday, Aug. 5, from 5-8 pm, and remains on display through Aug. 23. “When we travel to museums and galleries to view the work of other creatives, it can challenge us to explore new methods, media, and conversations,” says Natalie Lascek, Director of the Center for Creative Exploration. The great thing about this camp is the depth of engagement each student will have with the artwork. They’re getting behind the scenes/rock-star level access. We hope that this will inspire and impact students’ artwork in ways that we are excited to uncover!”