ICA San Diego Art Camp

Accommodation

ICA San Diego Art Camp is a day camp. Campers attend during the scheduled day and return home afterward. No overnight lodging, cabins, dorm rooms, hotel stays, or residential supervision are included.

Regular camp hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The day begins with sign-in, then campers move through a first project, snack, a second project, lunch, and afternoon studio time. Optional aftercare runs from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM for an additional fee.

The camp takes place at two ICA San Diego locations. ICA Central in Balboa Park offers access to partner museums and time outdoors to enjoy the park. ICA North in Encinitas includes access to a 6-acre property, garden areas, and Sculpture Trail hikes.

Meals

Campers have a snack break and lunch time built into the daily schedule. The standard camp schedule includes a snack from 10:00 AM to 10:15 AM and lunch in the garden around 12:30 PM.

Food is not described as provided. Families should plan to send a snack, lunch, and a water bottle unless separate registration instructions say otherwise. Since campers are painting, building, sculpting, using mixed media, and moving between creative activities, simple, easy-to-manage food is best for the camp day.

The Teen Portfolio Intensive also includes a snack break and lunch period. Students in that program work through professional breakdowns, lectures, writing practice, and studio time, so they should be prepared for a focused day.

Safety

ICA San Diego Art Camp uses a structured daily schedule with sign-in at the start of camp and sign-out at the end of the regular day. Optional aftercare is available from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM for families who need an extra hour of supervised time.

Campers work under the guidance of teaching artists. The program is project-based, with campers moving through planned activities, art projects, snack, lunch, studio work, and end-of-week exhibition preparation. This gives the day a predictable rhythm for children who benefit from structure.

At ICA Central, campers may spend time outdoors in Balboa Park and visit partner museums. At ICA North, campers may explore the garden and Sculpture Trail. These outdoor and museum components add variety, but families should make sure children are comfortable following group directions in a public cultural setting.

Camp traditions

The weekly student art exhibition is the heart of ICA San Diego Art Camp. At the end of the week, young artists get to show what they have made. That simple tradition changes the whole camp experience. Campers are not just filling time with crafts. They are working toward a real moment of sharing.

Each age group gets its own creative path. Younger campers build confidence through colorful, imaginative themes. Ages 8–10 begin connecting art to STEAM, global cultures, ecology, robots, ocean worlds, and upcycling. Pre-teens and teens explore more layered materials, including ceramics, textiles, zines, kinetic sculpture, and mixed media drawing.

The camp also reflects ICA’s contemporary art setting. Campers are encouraged to solve problems creatively, experiment with materials, and think about art as a way to express ideas. It is less about copying a perfect sample and more about exploring what materials can do.

ICA San Diego Art Camp gives campers a broad experience in contemporary art. The youngest artists, ages 5–7, explore playful themes through painting, drawing, crafting, sculpture, color, animals, dinosaurs, gardens, ocean life, space, and nature. These weeks are designed to keep art fun, tactile, and approachable.

Ages 8–10 get more complex creative challenges. STEAM Studio combines art, science, and technology through color-changing creations and moving artworks. Mixed Media Madness uses paint, collage, textures, and found objects. Build-A-Bot Art Studio lets campers design and decorate artistic robots with recycled parts and playful materials. Eco-Art Explorers turns everyday materials into new art.

Older campers ages 11–13 work with mixed media, ceramics, textiles, sculpture, kinetic art, biology-inspired design, zines, collage, and storytelling. Teens ages 14–17 can join mixed media drawing and ceramics, or choose the Teen Summer Portfolio Intensive, which helps high school students develop a professional art portfolio through hands-on projects, critiques, and guidance.