Arts Education

The Lawrence Arts Center's Arts Education Program features a variety of day and evening art classes for children and adults. Courses are offered in drawing, painting, ceramics, textiles, papermaking, mixed media, photography, creative writing, poetry, stained glass, mosaics, jewelry and more!

The Arts Education program mission is to provide high quality fine art education that is accessible to the general public. Classes are offered during the Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Instructors are experienced practicing area artists with professional resumes. The LAC creates an environment where students can expand the imagination and test their creativity!

Adult Arts Education

The Lawrence Arts Center's Arts Education Program offers classes and workshops that promote education and imagination for beginners, and revitalize, encourage and support professional and practicing artists in their fields. The adult program focus is to promote art in everyday life, whether a student is a beginner or a professional artist. From Basic Drawing I to Advanced Ceramics, classes are offered in a wide and diverse range of media and skill levels. Our programs will encourage you to stretch your skills and thought to new levels. Imagine what you can create!

Youth Arts Education

We help children develop their inherent creativity at the Lawrence Arts Center. Instructors are experienced art educators and teaching artists who offer children the ability to communicate ideas, connect with their imaginations, and experience life in creative terms. The children's program focuses on giving students opportunities to develop artistic skills in a nurturing, creative environment. Classes and workshops are developed to meet national standards for arts education, and are offered in a wide and diverse range of media and skill levels for students ages preschool, K-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade, and 6th-9th grade. Our programs will encourage your children to stretch their skills and thought to new levels. Imagine what you can create!

Summer Arts Institutes and Camps

March 15, 2011

TradeWind Energy and Enel Green Power North America Help the Lawrence Arts Center Deliver Summer Arts Programs to Students in Lawrence and Rural Kansas

TradeWind Energy, of Lenexa, Kansas (TradeWind), Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGP-NA) and the Lawrence Arts Center (LAC) announce an innovative partnership beginning immediately and culminating in ten week-long Arts Summer Camps to be held at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

According to Susan Tate, Executive Director of the Lawrence Arts Center, “TradeWind and Enel Green Power North America understand the role visual and performing arts play in nurturing innovative thought in children and teenagers. Because of financial support from these two partners, our artist-teachers will be trained in national arts standards and in the influence of technological developments on artists over the centuries.”

Toni Volpe, Enel Green Power North America’s President and CEO, comments: “In line with our corporate social responsibility policy EGP-NA focuses on the enhancement of the environment, healthcare, education, culture and sports. This particular initiative demonstrates the desire of our company to be a good corporate citizen. It is a clear indication of the importance we put on the sustainable development of the younger generation.”

Arts Center summer arts camps and the newly created Arts Institutes for Middle School and High School students are based on a Renaissance humanities model in which arts and sciences are complementary disciplines. In addition to their work inside the Arts Center this summer, with TradeWind and EGP-NA’s support, Lawrence Arts Center artists will be invited to teach and work with children in rural Kansas areas.

“We are pleased to do our part to provide arts and science education to children in the rural Kansas communities that we serve,” said Matt Gilhousen, Senior Vice President of Project Development with TradeWind Energy. “We recognize that in a challenging economy, not every community can provide arts education. We want to ensure more children have the opportunity to experience the terrific programs through the Lawrence Arts Center.”

The philosophy behind the TradeWind/EGP-NA/LAC partnership is that creativity and expression are vital to scientific discovery and problem-solving. “We look forward to working with TradeWind and Enel Green Power North America to develop a model of visual and performance arts and science education for communities throughout Kansas,” Tate said.

Summer Camps for Preschool through 5th Grade

Lawrence Arts Center Summer Arts Camps 2011 will feature week-long all arts camps for preschool through 5th graders with the theme "Art Around the World.”

Preschool Camps will include:

• What a “Concoction!” Art and Science—a perfect mix! Explore a variety of science activities and create art at the same time!

• Doodle Bugs—Anna Busby Let’s venture into a bug’s life. We’ll explore nature and the creepy, crawly, tickly and prickly, all shapes and sizes of bugs. We can even create bugs and their habitats.

• Art-chitecture—Kim Rack Campers will explore the art and science of building. Building using a variety of materials which might even create a city.

• Leonardo’s Preschool: Art+Math=Fun—Fabiana Cesa Who is the next Leonardo DaVinci? Enjoy some FUNdamental math concepts wrapped in the arts.

Kindergarten-5th Grade:

Arts camps for 1st-5th graders will follow art and artists across centuries, galaxies, and continents from a galaxy far, far away to 14th century Florence, to late 20th century New York City. Camp curriculum will focus on representative artists and genres as well as the connections between scientific and technological developments and artistic innovation in each place and time. All arts activities will include visual arts (clay, painting, sculpture, print-making and more) and performing arts (acting, stagecraft, music, dance, creating dance and video).

Middle School and High School Arts Institutes

The summer of 2011 will also introduce our Middle School Arts Institute for 6th-8th grades and our High School Arts Institute for 9th-12th grades. These arts classes for older children will not feature the same themes; however, as always, each instructor will make explicit the connection between art and scientific innovation, for example (and depending on the class objectives) classical understanding of the human form, the invention of perspective, early printing methods, fundamental animation techniques, and theories of movement.

Arts Center classes for each grade level observe National Standards in visual and performing arts.