Carpenter Art Garden to Mississippi!

This summer the Carpenter Art Garden will be traveling to Ocean Springs, MS and Horn Island. This will be the second summer we are traveling out of town with students from the Binghampton neighborhood of Memphis, TN. Ocean Springs is a city for art lovers! We will be visiting two Southern artist staples: Shearwater Pottery and the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. For the second half of our trip, students will travel to Horn Island. Artist Walter Anderson spent a large portion of his life on this small barrier island off of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  We will be traveling by boat 15 miles to Horn Island and spend 24 hours painting, drawing and studying the wildlife on the island as Anderson did. 

We are in the planning phases for this trip. The next few months will be used to fundraise, collect supplies, and located an outfitter for camping materials. Success for this trip is exposing students to a new culturally rich experience. Our trip begins Friday June 30th from the Carpenter Art Garden in Memphis, TN. We will travel in a charter bus 6 hours south to Ocean Springs, MS. While in Ocean Springs, we will visit Shearwater Pottery and the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. Both of these museums are staples in this small southern art town. On Saturday we will travel by boat to Horn Island in Mississippi. Horn Island is where artist Walter Anderson used to work in solitude in this very remote setting. While on the island, our students will be outfitted with camping supplies and we will sleep under the stars, make meals over the fire, and create our own art inspired by the island.

This is an invaluable educational experience for students. We will be traveling outside of Memphis for a few days to create and explore outside of the city. The town of Ocean Springs is a staple in southern art. Students will view art in a museum and experience the artists inspiration first hand. The overnight camping trip to Horn Island will connect students with nature in order to achieve an artistic vision.  For all of our students, this will be their first time on an island and for many, their first time camping. In a neighborhood often plagued by chaos, this is an opportunity to fully submerge in a new environment and create.