Last year, we were feeling nostalgic for the summer-camp experience, so we were glad to find Camp No Counselors — a chance to bunk up and play games and swim, with a few grown-up perks thrown in.
This year, we’re missing the creative inspiration of arts and crafts, and the pride that comes with learning new artistic skills.
Luckily, once again, the Nashville area provides: ArtCamp Nashville, coming up on Saturday, Oct. 15, is a creative day camp for us big kids, designed to bring local artists, writers, photographers and other creators and makers together, and to let us benefit from their talent and knowledge.
Over the course of the day — ArtCamp Nashville runs 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. — attendees get to pack in a full course load, choosing from a mix of sessions that cover three pointed topics: how art and community intersect, how to make creative endeavors work as a business, and hands-on creative skill-building.
Your specific class schedule can lean as much or as little toward one particular topic as you want — four different options are offered for each of six 40-minute class timeslots, so you can opt to pack a ton of business knowledge in, spend the whole day exploring broader creative concepts, or something in between.
Among the local talents sharing skills at ArtCamp: Nashville writer Susannah Felts, who’ll talk about building Nashville writers collective The Porch; photographer Michael Nott, who’ll help campers learn street photography tricks; and artist Roy Laws, who’ll give a rundown of social media tips for creatives. There’s lots more; check out the full schedule of ArtCamp Nashville sessions here.
Extra bonus: Being an ArtCamper far from breaks the bank. Tickets are $15 in advance, and can be snagged easily through Eventbrite. (They’ll be $20 at the door.)
Along with the full day of learning and doing, your ticket gets you coffee, lunch and (if you’re among the first 300 registered campers) an ArtCamp Nashville T-shirt.
The day of learning and creating goes down at Nossi College of Art in Madison (590 Cheron Road), and wraps with an afterparty that’ll have music, a photo booth, beverages from new Nashville craft brewery East Nashville Beer Works and more.
For the full scope of what’s happening at ArtCamp 2016, visit ArtCampNashville.com.
If you head over there, tag us on Instagram or Facebook — we’d love to see what your day of creativity looks like!
ArtCamp Nashville info at a glance
When: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Nossi College of Art, 590 Cheron Road, Madison
Admission: $15 in advance, $20 day of
Info: artcampnashville.com