Cibyl Kavan, who covers art education for Oregon ArtsWatch, is an elementary school art teacher and an occasional teaching artist at Grace Art Camp. 

During a recent visit to one of Grace Art Camps’ 3-day mini-camp sessions, I was immediately drawn into the vibrancy and palpable joy of the morning gathering of children working together with artists. As the morning began, music and storytelling were front and center, with children, ages 4-12, sitting with their age groups and mentor counselors. Later, after the campers dispersed to their various studios for hands-on activities, I wandered from class to class, checking out the diversity of arts offered. In one area, the younger campers were engaged in songwriting with a variety of instruments and recording devices. With older children, the teaching artists explored ceramics and collaborative tower building. Others worked with felt and embroidery floss in the Fiber Arts studio. 

Housed in the commons area of Grace Episcopal Church in Portland’s Lloyd District, the arts education non-profit has been dedicated to creating multicultural awareness through the lens of art for almost 30 years. According to executive director Amy Gray, Grace Art Camp, at its core, is not just about making art – it’s about using art as a language for learning. A vital component of the camp experience is to have the children understand cultures through the act of creating, not just by hearing stories or studying artifacts. This active, immersive, experience-driven approach fosters curiosity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. 

“One of the most valuable skills art teaches is the ability to embrace mistakes,” says Gray. “I think about the Japanese concept of Kintsugi – repairing broken pottery with gold to highlight its history rather than hide it. This philosophy applies to how Grace Art Camp approaches learning.” 

In this supportive environment, the faculty and staff encourage the young artists to see challenges as opportunities and to stay curious rather than seeking immediate answers. Gray feels strongly that, in today’s polarized world, fostering curiosity is more important than ever.

Cultivated in community and a commitment to multicultural perspectives

For almost 30 years, Grace Art Camp has been a place of vibrant cultural learning that has continuously evolved to meet the moment. As the umbrella non-profit for the camps, Grace Institute’s mission is to nurture young minds, empowering them to explore art as a language through which cultural connection and appreciation are learned. Gray observes that, “as our society’s understanding of cultural engagement deepens, so does Grace’s commitment to ensuring that every camper’s experience is authentic, inclusive, and transformative.” 

Grace Art Camp fosters children’s creativity through storytelling, visual arts, music, and performance in multi-week summer camps and non-school day camps throughout the school year. Rooted in community engagement, a deep commitment to a multicultural lens, and a dedication to artistic exploration and cultural education, the camp was launched in 1996 – the same year Oregon first cut funding for the arts from the Department of Education’s budget. The original founders of the art camp, Reverend Stephen Schneider, rector of Grace Episcopal at that time, and Sandra Bright, the first Art Camp director, saw the loss of public school art funding as a major cultural and educational issue and decided to take action. They initiated an art-focused summer camp for kids, initially run by church volunteers. About 30 kids participated that first summer, but the camp quickly gained popularity.

Over the years, the program expanded to multiple weeks, eventually becoming a separate nonprofit entity. Summers consist of a cultural or regional focus consisting of nine one-week long sessions; 3-day Fall, Winter, and Spring Break Camps honor seasonal themes of community, peace, and renewal. Though it started at the church, the camp never had a religious doctrine; from day one, Grace Art Camp focused solely on arts and culture. It was important to the founders that the camp foster cultural humility rather than religious teachings. 

Eventually, the camp became independent, though it still rents space from and maintains a strong relationship with the church. Demographically, Grace Art Camp serves children from a wide range of cultural and economic backgrounds from throughout the Portland metro area, and offers a robust scholarship program with community agencies that service Kairos, DHS, Holy Cross, Alder, and Chapman schools. The agencies receive bulk scholarships so that children can attend art camp as a group fostering their sense of belonging and inclusion.

Grace Art Camp now operates under the umbrella of the Grace Art Institute, an independent nonprofit renting space from the church. Similarly, another nonprofit, PHAME, rents space there, but has no direct affiliation with the church. This allows Grace Art Camp to function autonomously while maintaining its historical location. 

In September 2024, Amy Gray was hired as executive director, only the third since 1996. The leadership team also includes Ashley Klump, camp director; Bo Slice, registrar; and Susan Gray, bookkeeper and parent of a former camper. With these internal shifts, there comes a strong sense of continuity, collaboration, and shared leadership, as everyone in these roles already had deep connections to Grace Art Camp. 

The camp’s setting at Grace Episcopal Church provides a unique atmosphere for artistic expression, as the historic building and its open spaces contribute to a sense of belonging and inspiration. Plans for affordable housing development on-site may reshape the physical space, but the commitment to fostering an inclusive, vibrant arts community remains steadfast.

The Culture Keeper Model

A concept the leadership team has been refining is the role of “Culture Keepers.” These are individuals who have a deep, lived connection to the culture the camp explores each summer. Gray feels it is important that instead of having one or two guest speakers, the camp aims to create a network of cultural guides who help shape the entire experience. 

“This ensures that we are not just teaching about a culture, but engaging with it in a way that is deep, meaningful, and accurate,” Gray explains. “For example, in 2022, when we focused on North Africa, we had an Algerian dancer who was living in Portland for the summer and a Moroccan band performing regularly. However, we noticed gaps in representation and authenticity. In 2023, we refined our approach during the “Summer of India” by working closely with families and artists from the Indian diaspora. They helped shape the program, ensuring a more holistic representation of Indian culture. In 2024, we focused on Hawaii, which provided a stepping stone for our upcoming Indigenous Oregon theme.”

One of the biggest challenges in cultural programming is building trust. “When working with the Confluence Project for our Hawaii programming, the planning team learned that true collaboration takes time,” notes Gray. Now, as the camp prepares for 2025’s Indigenous Oregon theme, the conversations, teaching artist professional development, and training are happening earlier in the planning process to ensure meaningful partnerships, cultural competencies, and authentic arts practices.

Artistic exploration at Grace Art Camp

The camp offers a wide array of artistic disciplines, providing children with immersive experiences in visual arts – including painting, fiber arts, and ceramics; music – through songwriting, instrument exploration, and collaborative performance; theater & puppetry – bringing stories to life through performance; and culinary arts – learning culture through traditional food preparation. The Culinary Studio is one of the most important ways kids experience culture and it’s also one with the largest variety of distinguishing characteristics.  For example, during the “Summer of India” there were several culinary experiences where households that house three generations worked together to bring dishes to the campers. Grandmothers and grandfathers in their 80s, along with their grown children and grandchildren would produce a large variety of dishes with various spices and campers would sample things they had never tried before.  

A completely different experience of culinary art during the “Summer of Aloha” featured a single young nonbinary Hawaiian culinary artist who used rice and household flavors like salt and soy sauce and garlic to add dynamics to Taro (Kalo) Root. Kalo is the origin story for Hawaiian people, it has a starchy quality and for the average camper with no experience tasting this somewhat bland root, the addition of well known ingredients can help. The entire studio sometimes circled around the Kalo. 

This coming summer Grace Art Camp, focusing on Indigenous cultures, has added a garden studio which grows beans, corn, and squash, traditionally known as the three sisters. Even even though the plants will also be growing onsite, they won’t be harvestable in time for camp, so a culinary artist, who is also a farmer, will bring the locally grown produce, known as the three sisters, to the camp so the kids can experience the flavors, as well as the cultural history, of corn, beans, and squash. This culinary experience is about first foods for Indigenous peoples, but also about caring for the land and growing food. The culinary studio is flexible and changes based on guidance from the featured culture. This keeps the experience of food alive, from growing, harvesting, tasting, smelling, storytelling, and not yucking someone else’s yum. The culinary experience is a rich learning ground. 

Each studio is guided both by talented teaching artists and culture keepers, ensuring authenticity in cultural representation, while older children serve as mentors and counselors. The artists’ workshops encourage children to express themselves, while also understanding broader cultural contexts. The teaching artists at Grace Art Camp come from many walks of life, including artists, musicians, and actors in the community, as well as the culture keepers who tell stories, cook, and dance.They range in age, race, background, and experience. There are new artists every year along with some who have been at Grace for 20 years. A few have been on the roster of the Right Brain Initiative and some are campers who grew up to be counselors then became artists. Some are art teachers, some are elementary school teachers, and this year there will also be some farmers!

A culture of leadership and growth

Gray and the camp staff enthusiastically point out that Grace Art Camp is built on a structured mentorship model, ensuring that learning extends beyond the artistic process. Teenagers and young adults play key roles as assistant counselors, counselors-in-training, and lead counselors. The camp’s leadership framework follows a progression:

• Campers: Children who are in the camps program, up to age 12.
• Counselors-in-Training (CITs): Middle school students beginning their journey in mentorship.
• Junior Counselors: High school students taking on greater responsibility with paid opportunities.
• Senior Leadership Counselors: College students who run the day-to-day flow of camp
• Studio Assistants: Supporting teaching artists in workshops.
• Teaching Artists: Experienced professionals guiding young artists.

“This model creates a lasting impact, as many former campers return as leaders, carrying forward the camp’s ethos of respect, responsibility, receptivity, and resourcefulness,” notes Gray.

Looking Ahead: Visions for the Future

As the camp continues to evolve, it embraces a philosophy of growth mindset – encouraging students to approach learning with curiosity and resilience. By integrating year-round programming, expanding community partnerships, and refining its cultural education approach, Grace Art Camp ensures that these foundational principles of  creativity, leadership, and inclusivity remain at the heart of its mission.

When thinking about the future of Grace’s Art Camp, Amy Gray says her goal as executive director is to deepen cultural engagement while expanding accessibility. “We want to increase scholarship opportunities, grow our afterschool programs, and create year-round opportunities for kids,” states Gray. Another major shift Gray is leading is in how Grace Art Camp engages with artists. She relays that “historically, we’ve had a seasonal relationship with our teaching artists, bringing them in just before summer. Now, we’re working on year-round artist gatherings to foster a stronger community and enrich our programming.”

Another key initiative is Grace Art Camp’s partnership with The Confluence Project. Grace Art Camp has a 30-year dedication to funding DEI initiatives and the partnership with Confluence Project amplifies this commitment so that the camp can continue to fulfil its multicultural arts mission and vision. “This partnership helps us integrate authentic cultural perspectives into our programming, providing meaningful cultural education for campers,” says Gray. 

Looking ahead to 2026, the camp’s leadership is considering a focus on Indigenous Australia. However, says Gray, “we are also exploring other cultural themes that have strong local representation, such as the Somali or Ukrainian communities in Portland. The key to success is ensuring that we have the right cultural partners to guide the experience authentically.”

Another big question the leadership is pondering is whether Grace’s Art Camp can be a model for other communities. Gray wonders whether the model could be expanded to places like Bend, Eugene, or Vancouver? Could elements of the program be integrated into schools as teaching artist residencies? These are all ideas the leadership team is excited to explore as Grace Art Camp actively engages with its current programming and future growth.