ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Dali Museum has a "no running" policy, but that rule can be hard to follow during the summer.
With so many fun, hands-on, weekly art camps for students, their creative energy is always approaching full speed.
One of the most popular activities at the Junior Docent Art Camp is when the students choose their favorite Dali painting, study it, then give a presentation to the rest of the campers as well as the general public, just like a real docent.
Nalia Amer, 13, had no idea what to expect from her first camp experience.
“I never thought I’d like going into art galleries, but I went in and it blew my mind. This was my first time in an art gallery and it was awesome,” said Amer.
Many of these students return every summer, while others are scholarship recipients, thanks to community support.
“We welcome in about 20 students per week, ages 9-14, to learn about Dali’s art and make their own art,” said School Programs Director Sumaya Ayad.
Ayad said while studying paintings and creating their own, they also learn valuable life skills like public speaking and teamwork.
“Coming in Monday morning, there is a hard shell around them, but then we absolutely are able to crack into that. By the end of the week, everybody is really close friends,” said Ayad.
Each group is paired up with an art teacher from across Tampa Bay, like Dwayne Shepherd.
“If I had an experience like this as a kid, ‘wow,’” said Shepherd. “Worldwide famous museum and to come up and look at Dali’s art.”
One of the highlights of the camp is the scavenger hunt—who knows where you’ll end up.
“Students get to see all different parts of the museum, behind the scenes, that are not typically open to the public, back to our security booth, up into our offices and of course into the galleries and out into the garden,” said Ayad.
For many of these students, it’s more than just an art camp; it’s life-changing.
“I would like to do it as a primary job, hopefully, and I would hope to go to art school,” said 13-year-old Kiera Nguyen Lim.
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