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Summer Art High School Programs

Tufts Pre-College and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts offer two inspiring programs for high school artists to harness their creativity in Studio Art and Graphic Design.

Go further with your artistry with Tufts' Pre-College Summer Art programs for high school students! Our summer art courses are ideal for those looking to refine their capabilities while exploring new outlets, from traditional paper-and-pen art to graphic design. See where your art can take you and your career, with professional support from experts in the field.

 

SMFA Studio Art

July 7 – 26, 2024
home Residential
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Allows students to challenge themselves with new mediums and refine existing skills and develop a professional portfolio.

Note: residential students will live on the Medford campus.

SMFA Graphic Design Certificate Bootcamp

July 29 – August 2, 2024
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Spend a week this summer, from the comfort of your own home, diving into the Adobe Creative Cloud software tools, hearing from professional graphic designers, and exploring the intersection of art, technology, and design with this fully online offering from Tufts and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.

Meet our Studio Art Staff


 

Sonja Czekalski Headshot

Sonja Czekalski, Program Lead

Phone
617.627.2926

Sonja Czekalski is a Rhode Island based interdisciplinary artist and MFA Graduate in Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA. Her current work embeds itself in the fourth wave of American feminism meeting at the intersection of women’s craft, visceral memory, and sustainability. 


Czekalski is the Gallery Director of the historic Hera Gallery in Wakefield, RI. She teaches an array of studio art courses at various New England universities and museums. Czekalski exhibits both regionally and internationally. Recent exhibitions include the Newport Art Museum in Newport RI, Laconia Gallery in Boston MA, and at RANT Arts in Burnie, Tasmania. She is an artist member at Hera Gallery, a member of the North American Hand Papermakers, and a contributor to Witches Magazine.

Matthew Steinke, Program Instructor

University College

Matt Steinke is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Rhode Island. His practice explores the real-time interactions between visible and invisible spaces manifested through new experiments combining sculpture, sound, performance, music, code, text, video, and robotics.

His immersive installations employ autonomous sound-producing mechanisms that generate a range of methodical and chaotic performances via custom programming and electronics. Constructed from found materials, clay, paint, wood, and metal, Steinke’s hybrid sculptures generate kinetic movement and physical sound. They function as self-contained engagement systems that guide spectators through meditations on consumerism, morality, transcendence, ecology, and health. Prompted by found technology, code, media, and text, each work is based on an identity or a location– an individuated articulation about a possible future.

side profile of a man with blonde hair and a beard in a flannel shirt

Michael MacMahon, Program Instructor

University College

Michael is part of the painting faculty at SMFA, originally from Ireland now residing in the United States. In addition to painting he has enjoyed trans-disciplinary opportunities that bridge art and other ventures. Michael's paintings present a range of possible approaches and perspectives by which to analyze not only the unique places we inhabit, but also their context in relation to ourselves. Michael is an SMFA alumni and returning Pre-College instructor.

Courtney McClellan, Program Instructor

University College

Courtney McClellan is an artist and writer from Greensboro, N.C. She earned her B.A. in Studio Art and Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008, and in 2013, she earned her M.F.A. from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 2013-2014, she served as the Fountainhead Fellow in the Sculpture and Extended Media Department at Virginia Commonwealth University and she was a 2017-2018 SMFA at Tufts Traveling Fellow. Her work has been supported with fellowships at McDowell in Peterborough, NH; Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY; Stove Works in Chattanooga, TN; the Hambidge Center in Raburn Gap, GA; and Wassaic Projects in Wassaic NY; as well as with grants from organizations like Idea Capital Atlanta. McClellan’s work has been shown at SculptureCenter in Long Island City NY; Reynolds Gallery in Richmond, VA; and the Atlanta Contemporary in Atlanta, GA. Her work has been written about in Art in America, TheBrooklyn Rail, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Burnaway. She is a contributor at Art Papers.

McClellan was awarded the 2019-2020 Roman J. Witt Residency at the University of Michigan. The resulting performance project Witness Lab (2020) was exhibited at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Additionally, she was a 2019-2020 Working Artist Project Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Her exhibition, Simulations (2021), was mounted at MOCA GA. She was named the 2021 Innovator in Residence at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. She lives in Atlanta, GA.

Meet our Graphic Design Bootcamp Staff


 

Aamina Ganser headshot in front of flowers

Aamina Ganser, Program Lead

Phone
617.629.2926

Aamina Ganser is a designer of identities, experiences and environments. Her clients and collaborators include Amazon, Walt Disney Imagineering, the Smithsonian Institution, Johnson & Johnson, Calvin Klein, Johns Hopkins University and public spaces including Bryant Park. She currently teaches at Parsons School of Design and the Pratt Institute.

Aamina received an MFA from CalArts and graduated from UCLA with a BA in World Arts & Cultures. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and has been exhibited at the Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial and the Gallery at REDCAT.

Meghan Michaud, Program Instructor

University College

Meghan Reilly Michaud is a Massachusetts based designer and educator. Michaud earned a BFA in Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design and an MEd in Secondary Education at Salem State University. She holds Massachusetts and National Board certification in art education. Michaud has been quoted in media such as Scholastic Art, US News and World Report, PBS Learning Media, EdTech, amongst other resources for her teaching and art education advocacy. In addition to teaching at Andover High School, Meghan continues her freelance design practice as Visual Identity Studio creating identity systems and communications for a variety of clients. Michaud is a member of the Board of Governors at the RISD Museum.

Additional Summer Offerings


 

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Tufts Summer Accelerator


 

The Tufts Summer Accelerator is designed to provide students with a chance to immerse themselves in the undergraduate experience, allowing highly motivated students to engage in their own academic interests and develop their own ideas. Students enroll in two college-level seminars per two-week session, designed specifically for high school students. These seminars are small (15-20 students), discussion-based, interactive sessions in subject areas from across the University. 

Choose from a variety of seminar topics including Social Psychology of Prejudice, Discrimination, and RacismRussia's war on Ukraine: why, why now, and what's next...Introduction to Children's MediaArt, Truth, and Misinformation, and many more. 

Full Semester Courses


 

 

 

View Past Students Work


 

 

 

Hear from our Students


 

"I loved the guidance of each assignment, but the ability to have a lot of room for creativity."

SMFA Studio Art Student, 2021

I really enjoyed staying connected with my classmates and instructor through the virtual campus. It was a great opportunity to learn new technology, continue my design studies, and even provided a time of relaxation amidst the uncertainty.

Spring 2020 Graphic Design Student

 

 

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Join Our Pre-College Art Programs for High School Students


 

Ready to see what you can do with your natural artistic talent? Tufts Pre-College puts your professional development in your own hands while offering the support you need to make your goals a reality.


Transform your art into something impactful. Apply to our Pre-College Summer Art program today to join us this summer, online or in the classroom.

 

 

Stay connected and up-to-date on new programs - learn more about year-round programs and opportunities - never miss an announcement from Tufts Pre-College.

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