Art Center grant to provide free camps to about 30 children
A donation from the Neal Martin Christensen Foundation will allow dozens of children to attend summer camp programs at the Butler Art Center for free this year.
Shirley McCauley, board secretary for the Associated Artists of Butler County, said the grant money will provide access to art center sessions, including some new programs on a needs basis.
“It's a full week scholarship, or it could be a partial week. It's also for any classes for children and adults,” McCauley said. “We have a significant grant from them, so I don't think we'll run out at this point.”
According to McCauley, Associated Artists hosts summer camps at the Butler Art Center where artists teach people how to work in a particular medium or theme. The regular cost for a week of camp at the art center is $150, and scholarship applications are available on the art center’s website.
“It's need-based, but people can look at the application to see if they qualify,” McCauley said.
A new program that will take place during the week of July 24 is Theater Week, where children ages 6 to 12 will put together a production and perform it by the week’s end.
“Hopefully at the end of the week the goal is to be able to produce a short production using what they have learned,” McCauley said.
The following week of camp is “Beach Week,” which McCauley said is another theme with interesting art lessons for children.
McCauley said the Associated Artists of Butler County are working on other shows and fundraisers taking place in the summer and fall, with a goal of providing art and arts education to people of Butler.
“There’s a lot of exciting things coming up,” McCauley said.
