Seven-year-old Francisco spent Tuesday crafting a wooden hook inspired by Maui, the shape-shifting character from Moana. “It’s a Maui hook!” Francisco said, holding up his painted creation. “I love art because you get to use your imagination.” Francisco is one of 20 children who participated in the first day of a free art camp in downtown Saskatoon, led by artist duo Derek Sandbeck and Andie Palynchuk. “Our practice is focused on play. So we bring a lot of that to these workshops. We want the kids to play, and explore art in a pretty unstructured way,” Sandbeck said. “A big part of the program is that it’s free.” Inspired by Winnipeg’s Art City Inc., the programming is designed to give kids the chance to create without cost getting in the way. “Because there are families that can’t afford camps in the summer. So this is a free camp, your kids get lunch — everything’s provided,” Sandbeck explained. The first week kicks off with a collaborative mural project. Over the course of August, kids will get hands-on with sculpting, stamping, weaving, and even raft-building. The camp is capped at 20 kids per day, with half the spots reserved for drop-ins.
