Storm King Art Center hosted a two-week summer camp created specifically for San Miguel Academy’ rising 6th-graders. Led by instructors Evan Miklos and Mike DiRosa*, the program engaged the group of 16 students with hands-on, group-building explorations of the many micro-environments at the Art Center. Storm King Art Center is an outdoor museum and learning center with one of the largest collections of contemporary sculptures in the United States.
The camp is part of the Art Center’s commitment to developing educational programs and partnerships that have the greatest impact in the underserved Newburgh community. The unique outdoor summer learning experience that Storm King provides aligns with San Miguel Academy’s Project and Place Based Learning Program. Spending two full weeks at the Art Center gives campers and instructors alike the opportunity for an in-depth experience, grounded in place-based learning, close-looking, and fieldwork.
The partnership with Storm King Art Center continues throughout the school year: each grade visits the Art Center twice and works with educators from the Center on STEAM-based and art-focused projects.
*About the instructors:
Evan Miklos is a life-long explorer of the Hudson Valley and loves nature adventures of all kinds. He has two decades of experience as an outdoor educator and has been an early childhood and science teacher at Randolph School for 13 years. He is co-creator of the Creek Scouts after school program, which focuses on cooperative team building, field ecology, Native American culture, and wilderness survival skills.
Michael DiRosa is a New York-born, Rome-based, visual artist and educator. After graduating from Bard College in 2015 with a dual degree in physics and painting, Michael taught in Hunan, China as a Princeton in Asia fellow and attended the Lijiang Studio artist residency. Michael has worked at the Jacob Burns Film Center and Storm King Art Center in education and curation, developing art and nature-focused public offerings. Michael is now pursuing his Master’s in painting at the Rome University of Fine Arts.
