Top-notch local artist-instructors ensure summer art camps for kids will be ones to remember

Kelowna, BC: There is still some room available in several of the Kelowna Art Gallery’s summer art camps for children. Art Adventures camps are organized for pre-school children ages 3 to 5, and two separate camps are offered for children ages 6 to 8, and ages 9 to 11. Full-day camps, half-day camps, and morning-only “mini camps” are scheduled Monday through Friday. Art Adventures begins July 8, and the weekly camp programs run until August 23, 2013.

“Art Adventures is primarily about creating a fun, and interactive experience for engaging children and youths with art,” says Renée Burgess, Head of Public Programming at the Kelowna Art Gallery. “We know many of the kids will be tired of classrooms by summer, so we make sure our skilled instructors take the kids out on fun and exciting off-site trips to inspire their imaginations.”

Leading the art camps and excursions to artists’ studios, Kasugai Gardens, Waterfront Park, and nearby private galleries this year are four local artist-instructors, Connor Charlesworth, Kelsie Balehowsky, Lindsey Farr, and Rena Warren.

Charlesworth is no stranger to art, having been raised in an artistically inclined family, with a father who is a respected Canadian landscape painter. This offered him access to a studio from an early age and has allowed him to explore all sorts of media, from oil paint, to watercolour. Balehowsky, who is in her fourth year of her BFA at UBCO, works interchangeably between the media of photography and printmaking. She was recently nominated in the “Best Artist” category for the Best of Kelowna awards. Farr returns for her fifth summer working with children ages 3 to 5 in the pre-school mini-camps. She has a BFA from UBCO, and works mainly with acrylics. Warren earned her BFA from OUC and has over fifteen years experience in teaching art courses throughout the Okanagan. In her private practice, she specializes in large-scale oil portraiture and original block-print designs.

Class sizes for all camps are limited, allowing for more one-on-one instruction to enrich the experience. All programs highlight skill-building and self-expression, as well as the introduction of new ideas and artistic techniques.

During the camps, children can expect to develop skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, and sculpture, while being inspired by the current exhibitions on view at the Gallery. Scheduled guest artists, such as Lucas Glenn, Rod Charlesworth, Briar Craig, and others, play a pivotal role at each of the camps, as they share their expertise with the children to help them develop a better understanding of art.

In addition to creative exploration for participants, Art Adventures offers parents peace of mind that their children will be spending their summer days with their peers in a nurturing and creative environment.

For more information, or to register your child, please contact the Gallery at 250-762-2226 or online at www.kelownaartgallery.com

[Attached Image Credit:]
Left to Right: Art Adventures artist-instructors Lindsey Farr, Connor Charlesworth, Rena Warren, and Kelsie Balehowsky.

For more media information, please contact:

Joshua Desnoyers, Marketing and Events Coordinator
Kelowna Art Gallery
250-762-2226 ext. 305
josh@kelownaartgallery.com