Summer Arts Clinic invites students to get creative

Ian Vailliencourt started his eco-friendly streetwear label, Forestgreen, in high school. Building on his interest in streetwear’s connection to hip-hop and fashion, the brand — since renamed Vailliencorp — emphasizes upcycling techniques, embroidery and screen printing.

Now, as an instructor, Vailliencourt and others will share their creative artistry with students in a new Badger Precollege program that will debut this summer. 

Designed for students completing grades 9–12, Summer Arts Clinic offers courses in visual art, dance, theater and design, covering genres ranging from contemporary choreography and material culture to acting and screen printing. The week-long commuter program runs from June 30 to July 6; applications are due May 15.

Carrie Backman, assistant director of Badger Precollege arts programs, says students may select a single course pathway or multiple pathways to craft their desired experience. The goal is to help students develop connections and self-expression through the arts.

“Interconnectedness brings together and strengthens our world by celebrating and learning from our differences,” Backman says. “It is essential that students are consistently given opportunities to learn, discover, grow and connect through high-quality arts education to bring their creativity, empathy and beauty into our greater community.”

Students also have opportunities to learn about educational and career pathways in the arts. Courses are taught by experienced art professionals and educators from UW–Madison and beyond, providing a unique opportunity for high school students to work with world-class artists at a top-ranked university.

We asked three of our Summer Arts Clinic instructors to share some information about themselves, what they’re most excited about teaching in their course and what they hope students will take away from the experience.

Lisa M. Barker is an affiliate faculty member at UW–Madison’s School of Education, where she directs improvisation and outreach initiatives and teaches fundamentals of improvisation to undergraduate and graduate students from various majors. Before her work at UW–Madison, she worked in educational roles in theaters in Chicago and New York and is the founder of Stanford University’s Flying TreeHouse Children’s Theatre Company.

Her Summer Arts Clinic course in improvisation aims to teach high school students how to build on — and delight in — each other’s ideas. “We’ll explore a range of improv techniques and styles, emphasizing how improv applies to everyday life — relationships, listening and communication,” Barker says. 

She says students can expect lots of laughter in the class, a natural byproduct of improv. “I hope students come away from this class feeling energized, lighter and more joyful and that they learn strategies for making others feel safe and look good and for taking good care of themselves.”

Kagen Dunn says mosaics are a great way to introduce students to glass as an artistic material. “It’s cheap and easy to gather most of the supplies from your local hardware store,” she explains. “Mosaics are also a great bridge between working two-dimensionally and three-dimensionally.”

Dunn taught kiln-forming and glassblowing workshops in Fort Worth, TX, before recently earning her MFA from UW–Madison. She is a project manager for Glass Madison, a year-long project celebrating UW–Madison’s 60-year collegiate glass program.

“I hope students catch the ‘glass bug’ and become interested in learning more about various glass processes,” Dunn says of her Summer Arts Clinic class. “Glass is a fascinating material with lots of versatility in how it’s manipulated.”

Ian Vailliencourt is passionate about buying and wearing second-hand clothing for environmental and creative reasons. “Teaching students how to mend garments and alter the fit and style of clothing shows them they don’t always need to buy new pieces to replace worn ones and helps them get excited about customization,” he explains. 

He and co-instructor Robyn George will adapt the techniques they teach in Streetwear and Sustainable Style to students’ interests. He also plans to teach mending skills such as adding flares to pants, altering waist measurements and applying techniques like Sashiko and patchworking. 

“I want students to be able to buy a second-hand piece of clothing or find an old piece, sketch the modifications that they hope to make and then identify the processes that are required and adequately alter the piece,” explains Vailliencourt. 

He is currently a textile and fashion design student at UW–Madison and will graduate this year. Vailliencourt has continued to design seasonal runway-based clothing through his label and has interned with brands including Florsheim, Abel Paul George and Land’s End.

Summer Arts Clinic runs all day as a commuter program on the UW–Madison campus, Monday through Friday, June 30–July 6, 2024, and includes lunch. Explore the complete list of arts courses offered on the program web page. Registration for Summer Arts Clinic is open through May 15, 2024.