Arab Museum Summer Photo Camp Helps Kids Ages 10-15 See Their World In A New Way

posted on: May 23, 2016

The Arab American National Museum (AANM) has long offered the award-winning SURA Arts Academy to encourage youth to explore their artistic talents as well as their neighborhoods and the greater community. Equipped with the necessary training and tools, SURA students not only learn new skills, they meet new friends and encounter people in various walks of life.

Registration is open through 5 p.m. Friday, June 3, 2016, for AANM’s SURA Arts Academy 2016 Summer Camps. The program, a 2008 winner of the Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on Arts and the Humanities, offers students ages 10-15 an opportunity to develop digital photography skills and learn to interact with their increasingly diverse world.

For summer 2016, two separate, equivalent camps are offered, from June 20 -24, 2016, and July 18 -22, 2016. Instruction led by professional photographers takes place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. A maximum of 30 students is allowed per camp.

The curriculum entails a variety of visual presentations, photographic and writing assignments, discussion, critiques, guest artist visits and daily field trips. Using photography and AANM’s digital community history lab, students will tell stories about their lives, community and culture. Students learn to operate and care for the camera and how to compose a shot, but the instruction is also a catalyst. As students look through the camera lens, they develop self-awareness and respect toward others, and an idea of how they fit into the broader community.

Each year, AANM features SURA students’ work in its Student Photography Exhibition, set for Sept. 24, 2016 – Feb. 4, 2017.

Registration for SURA Arts Academy 2016 Summer Caps is available on AANM’s website for $150 for Museum Members and $180 for general public. Scholarships are available and will be awarded based on financial need and program availability.

All sessions are based at The Annex @ AANM. Point-and-shoot digital cameras are provided for each student. Students much bring a bagged lunch; pizza will be served on the final day of instruction.

SURA Arts Academy 2016 Summer Camps

June 20 -24, 2016, and July 18 -22, 2016

The Annex @ Arab American National Museum

13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126

Registration is available at http://arabamericanmuseum.org/2016.sura for $150 for Museum Members and $180 for general public. Payments will be processed through the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center box office.

Scholarship forms are also available for download at http://arabamericanmuseum.org/2016.sura.