Summer Art Safari in NYC Museums and Parks (Ages 6-11)

Attention creative kids and teens who are excited by New York City and ready to make art, make friends, and make the most of summer! New York City is home to some of the world's finest collections of fine art, design, history, architecture, and culture, all of it accessible and alive in a city that is itself a masterpiece of human creativity. This summer art program turns the city into your personal art playground.

Each week, two iconic museums and one beautiful outdoor park serve as your studio, your muse, and your classroom. Depending on the week, your artistic adventures may take you to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, The Conservatory, The Guggenheim, The Museum of the City of New York, El Barrio, or The Museum of Natural History. Together, these locations form an extraordinary rotation of inspiring environments that feed the artistic imagination in completely different ways.

Working in the tradition of famous artists like Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keeffe, who famously created their most iconic works en plein air, outdoors and in direct contact with their subject, you will create personalized artwork across a sweeping range of styles. From Impressionism and Fauvism to Cubism, Realism, Portraiture, Manga, Graffiti, Landscape Art, and more, you will explore and experiment with your own voice across many artistic traditions. The materials are just as varied: pencil, watercolor, mixed media, collage, colored pencils, and pastels, all supporting a curriculum designed to develop genuine artistic skill alongside creative confidence and self-expression.

Technique is a major focus throughout the program. You will develop skills in shading, 3D representation, linear and aerial perspective, compositional design, layering, cross-hatching, color mixing, and abstraction, building a versatile technical vocabulary that will serve your artistic development long after the summer ends.

What You Will Experience and Take Away:

• Explore and master drawing, painting, and mixed-media techniques while tapping into your unique creative voice and personal artistic style
• Feel genuinely energized and inspired by the museums, architecture, cultural diversity, and visual richness of New York City
• Develop real friendships with fellow young artists while experiencing the freedom, joy, and well-being that creative making reliably produces
• Receive personalized, encouraging, non-judgmental art instruction from professional New York City artists and art educators, working one-on-one and in small groups throughout each session
• Explore some of the world's most inspiring museum collections, using masterworks as both study material and creative springboard
• Build a comprehensive toolkit of artistic techniques, including blending, shading, perspective, 3D effect, layering, color mixing, manga, and much more
• Develop your artistic identity across landscape art, abstraction, portraiture, realism, architecture sketching, impressionism, pop art, comics, cartooning, and watercolor painting
• Learn to create artwork en plein air, outdoors, in direct observation of your subject, as artists have done for centuries
• Discover what makes your own artistic style distinctive and develop the confidence to express it freely
• Benefit from the scientifically documented effects of creative education, including enhanced communication skills, greater focus, improved relaxation, higher self-esteem, stronger social skills, and increased academic performance

Sample Weekly Schedule: Summer Art Safari, NYC Museums and Parks

• Museum Monday: Drawing Safari at The MET
  • Asian Art Galleries Scavenger Hunt Drawing Day. Students explore the nature-inspired art of China, Korea, and Japan through group games and creative surprises. Art projects include gesture drawings, 3D shading sketches, and compositional studies of the Koi Fish in The Garden Court.
• Plein Air Painting Tuesday: Landscape Drawing and Painting in Central Park
  • Following in the footsteps of Georgia O'Keeffe, Henri Matisse, and Monet, students create directly from nature. Sessions include color group art games, the art of mark-making, fast and slow observational drawing, and the development of a personal expressive style outdoors.
• Plein Air Painting Wednesday: NYC Sketchbook, Comics, and Manga Spirit
  • New York City is home to artists and cultures from around the globe. Students study current NYC artists and create their own NYC-inspired cityscapes, comics, cartoons, and personal narratives told through image and text.
• Thursday at The MET: African Art Drawing Safari
  • Students explore the African Art Galleries and create personalized artwork inspired by masks, instruments, and dance traditions. Projects include sketchbook art, thumbnail sketching, shading exercises, and imaginative response work.
• New York Friday: The City Is Our Canvas at the Museum of the City of New York
  • New York's extraordinary cultural diversity inspires personalized portrait artwork that encourages authenticity and self-expression. Students work with mixed media, including collage, colored pencils, and graphite, to create portraits that reflect their own identity and perspective.

Art Class Materials

Art supplies are not included in the program fee. A detailed materials list will be provided to all registered participants prior to the start of the program. Daily meeting spots will be shared upon registration and are located on the Upper East or Upper West Sides at easily accessible public transit locations.