Upcoming Opportunities for Creative Teens in North Atlanta

The middle and high school years are among the freest years for exploring interests and modes of self-expression. At The Art Center, we see some of the most innovative work coming from our teen students, and they are often among our most enthusiastic learners. We’re excited to be able to provide a space for these young artists to hone their skills, learn new techniques, and present their unique vision to the world. Many of our students have gone from after-school classes and camps into college art programs, and we now have several former students working as camp counselors and teachers here as well! As we head into summer break, The Art Center has several opportunities coming up for creative teenagers in the North Atlanta area to learn or exhibit their work.

Summer Camps for Middle and High Schoolers

Our week-long summer camps are like a creative retreat for our teen students. For younger students, the camps are structured with a greater focus on projects and step-by-step methods, but for the older students we are able to use the hours available to do a deep dive into transferable techniques that allow our students to explore their own ideas and create one-of-a-kind works of art.

Pottery Camps

Each week from May 27 to July 25 we have a pottery camp available for teen students. They start the week learning how to throw on the wheel, making plates and bowls and mugs while practicing the fundamental techniques of centering and shaping. After two days of wheel practice, they switch to handbuilding techniques and are offered the opportunity to create decorative and functional pieces that reflect their own interests and personalities. On Thursdays they learn about underglazes and glazes and have the chance to decorate their thrown pottery with food-safe glazes, and they end the week on Fridays by painting the handbuilt pieces with acrylics.

STEAM Camps

Middle school students with an interest in the sciences and the arts will have a great time at our STEAM camps! These camps will mix scientific principles with image creation and explore experimental art techniques. Projects will include an optical illusion drawing, a pendulum painting, and a terrarium.

Figure Drawing

Middle and high school students who want to hone their figure drawing and character creation skills will enjoy this class. This camp will begin with a focus on realistic proportions and structures, exploring different methods of drawing and painting the human figure. Once that practice is achieved, the class will shift focus to stylizing techniques in order to create unique characters or develop a personal style.

While this class is currently fully booked, you’re always welcome to call or email us to join the waitlist!

Creative Writing

We’re offering two creative writing camps this summer. Our Week 4 Writing Camp will feature guided writing exercises to help hone specific skills like character description and scene setting. It will explore principles of psychology and the social sciences, discuss different plot theories and ways to structure a writing process, and dive into some genre-specific concepts like building magic systems for a fantasy world.

Week 5’s Write Your Novel Camp is a guided independent study. Students with a story concept or a work in progress will have dedicated time to write, with optional prompts and exercises provided. The instructor will help with brainstorming and problem solving for difficult story moments, and there will be discussions of the different strategies for getting a novel completed. Throught the week, students will battle the teacher with their word counts to defeat a series of monsters and get thousands of words complete on their story.

Theatre Camps

Middle school and younger high school aged students can join us for two of our musical theatre camps. From June 2-June 6 we have a Pride Rock themed musical theatre camp for ages 6-14, and from July 8-11 we have a Defying Gravity themed musical theatre camp for ages 7-16. Each of these camps is done in the style of a musical revue (one week is a tall order for a full musical production), where students learn fundamental acting and musical theatre skills and prepare for a performance of scenes and songs inspired by The Lion King or Wicked.

Fashionista Camp

Middle schoolers with an interest in fashion will love Fashionista camp! Learn to create fashion accessories and design outfits to create their own style. Students will learn basic hand stitching, decoupage, surface design techniques, and more. A great camp for self-expression, where campers can wear and use everything they create!

Anime Camp

Middle school anime fans can learn to create kawaii art and fanart of their favorite anime and manga characters! They’ll start with simple step by step drawings and learn facial expressions, proportions, and coloring techniques. From there, they will create detailed and colorful drawings of manga and anime characters, both fan-inspired and original.

Exhibition Opportunity: High Honors Call for Art

Our seventh annual High Honors: Middle and High School Art Exhibition is currently open for entries. Middle and high school students in Fulton, Forsyth, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties are eligible to enter up to three works into the show. We’re accepting paintings, digital art, ceramics, mixed media, fiber art, photography, and jewelry. No AI imagery is accepted in this show.

This is a judged competition with cash awards, ribbons, Art Center Scholarships and other prizes awarded. Middle and high school students are judged separately so that students are competing only with their peers. Students are also welcome to list their work for sale if they wish.

We will be accepting entries until May 28th. Submissions should be sent to afoster@itstheartcenter.org with “High Honors” as the subject line.

Fall Classes (Beginning After Labor Day)

Teens who are looking for ways to practice the creative arts and meet like-minded friends can take advantage of our after school programs at The Art Center this fall! Starting in September, the week after Labor Day, we’re offering three classes for creative teens.

Improv

We’re excited to bring the performing arts to The Art Center with a brand new Teen Improv class! Improv (short for improvised theatre) is a fun way to practice quick thinking, teambuilding skills, public speaking, and personal confidence. This class will be taught by John Ruane, who trained and performed with the world-famous Second City in Chicago.

Teen Clay

Our most popular after school program is our Friday Teen Clay class. This class combines handbuilding and wheel for students in grades 7-12. Much like our summer pottery class, the after school class leads students through the fundamental skills of wheel and sculpture and allows them the space to practice and express their creativity with original decorative and functional pieces. This class fills up fast, and registration opens on May 2 at 1:30 PM.

Applied Dynamic Drawing

Teens who are interested in developing their illustration skills, especially for applications like comics and storyboarding, will have a great time in Friday’s Applied Dynamic Drawing! This class helps teach observational skills, anatomy, posing, shading, and drawing movement in characters. It’s a great class for students who are interested in using their art skills to tell stories.

We are thrilled to be able to provide a place of creative expression and community for our teen students at The Art Center. It's been one of our great joys here to watch the teen students grow in skill and confidence, find friends, and, in several cases, start careers in the arts. We've watched many of our students move on from The Art Center and into prestigious arts colleges, and we've had some of them come back to us to teach camps and classes as adults. We hope to see your creative teen join us this year!