Patchwork Planet: Art Across Borders
2-Week camp, August 3rd - August 14th
9:00am - 3:00 pm
Ages 6-13
Tuition: $600 / Tuition Assistance Available
Patchwork Planet is an arts and children’s rights initiative founded on the belief that art can serve as a bridge across communities, generations, and borders. This summer at River Arts, we are offering Art Across Borders as a two-week, full-day immersive camp, led by Meagan De Clerck.
The Summer Camp will take place August 3rd through August 14th and is designed as an expanded, immersive version of our 12-week Art Across Borders program. Campers will engage in many of the same core projects from the Spring and Fall programs, with additional time for deeper exploration, outdoor experiences, storytelling, cooking, music, and collaborative art-making.
Throughout the two weeks, campers will explore children’s rights through visual arts, music, movement, food, and story. Projects may include:
• Collages exploring the rights to education and medicine
• Clay guardians connected to freedom of thought and the right to live without fear
• Music and emotion connected to freedom of expression and protection
• Food and culture, including cooking and sharing meals from different countries, connected to the rights to a caring family and a clean, safe environment
• The iceberg of culture, exploring language, customs, and identity
• Self-portraits reflecting the rights to name, nationality, and joy
• Mask-making and storytelling as ways to explore identity, voice, and imagination
Because this is a full-day summer program, campers will also have daily outdoor time, unstructured creative play, shared meals, and opportunities to rest and reflect alongside art-making.
The camp will culminate in a collaborative mural project, drawing together themes, imagery, music, and ideas developed throughout the two weeks. Music will be woven throughout the camp, with campers learning and sharing songs connected to the broader Art Across Borders program and our international collaborations.
Our work is documented on the Patchwork Planet YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@Patchwork-Planet), which features student projects, murals, and cross-border collaborations. The channel has reached over 40,000 views since launching in September, reflecting strong engagement with this child-centered, arts-based approach.
This Summer Camp is ideal for children who participated in the Fall or Spring Art Across Borders programs, as well as new students who are excited to spend two weeks immersed in art, music, culture, and creative community.
Refund and cancellation policy here.
Meagan De Clerck is an acrylic and multimedia artist, educator, and advocate for social justice and multicultural understanding. Deeply inspired by her late father—a painter who was her greatest teacher—Meagan’s artistic journey began in childhood and evolved alongside her global work in refugee resettlement, crisis management, and international relations. She holds an MA in International Policies and Crisis Management from La Sapienza University in Rome and a BA in International Relations from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. Her art reflects themes of displacement and resilience,blending themes of spirituality and advocacy. Meagan has lived and worked in Spain, Italy, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Kenya, and she speaks Spanish, Italian, and French. After four years of living in community in N. California, she and her husband and their four children relocated to Eden VT where they have been for four years. She homeschools her kids, works as a birth doula, and co-directs Patchwork Planet, an arts and advocacy initiative. Through her workshops and mural projects, she uses art to help people explore identity, cultural connection, and human rights, empowering them to become more compassionate global citizens.
