Artist Educators Bring Joy to Overnight Camp

For more than 35 years, Rural & Migrant Ministry’s Overnight Leadership Camp has been giving children an unforgettable summer experience. Rural, migrant and underserved youth, ages 8-17, spend a week in a tranquil, woodsy environment; for many of these children, it's a rare opportunity to feel safe, and to be heard, loved and accepted.

A key purpose of RMM’s Overnight Camp is to offer, “An experiment in living life differently – in order to go back into the world inspired and to be a change agent.” Central to this experience is the opportunity RMM provides for children to learn to express themselves through music, dance, art and activism, under the guidance of world-class artist educators.

These artists-in-residence help to create a safe space where campers can share their ideas and explore the power of their voices, to break down barriers and connect with each other. Through the power of artistry, campers learn to think about the meaning of their paths, their struggles and their identities. Along with camp counselors and other staff, RMM’s artist educators help children to practice and improve important qualities and life skills, including self-confidence, public speaking, working in groups and more.

But to do this, each artist must first “connect with the essence of who they are as an artist,” said Andrés Chamorro, Coordinator of RMM’s Youth Empowerment Program and the organization’s prime mover of arts education.

“Our main goal to get the artists together was so that they will be able to connect, learn from each other, understand what their role is going to be within the groups, and to really connect with the essence of their work,” Andrés said. “There is a different way when they come and use only their knowledge in terms of what they do, but the thing that was most import to me was, how can they connect with their essence so they can really teach from their hearts?”

In this sense, the Camp experience is as beneficial for the artists as it is for the children.

“It’s as if we’re really running three camps,” said RMM Executive Director Richard Witt: “One for the campers, one for the staff and one for the artists.”

This year, nine artist educators lived at Camp for the week, one of the larger ratios of artists to campers in recent memory. Of those nine, four were first-timers with RMM.

“Being here this year has really poured so much into my cup, to be around so much beautiful youth, with their spirit, with their openness to just experience and try something new,” said N’Koula Badila, a drummer and dancer who taught traditional Congolese, West African dance to the campers, as well as jewelry-making. It was the first year at Overnight Leadership Camp for N’Koula and her partner, drummer Angel Lau, who taught Afro-Peruvian, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian percussion; both worked with the Justice group, comprised of campers ages 11-13.

Musician Tor Snyder, who’s been an artist educator at Overnight Camp for 11 years, also spoke of the benefits it has brought to his artistry.

“It’s a profoundly enriching experience,” Tor said. “You learn from the kids. You learn from the other artists. Everybody’s working together, everybody is inspiring each other. Everybody’s extending themselves. You want to give, you want to share, because the kids are so deserving. But you get more — I get more, so much more than I’m able to give, even.”

Still, it is in giving to the children that these artists find so much joy.

“One of the reasons why I love being an artist educator is because I love to ignite the spark in youth that will push them beyond yonder — out beyond the Camp,” said Talent Davis, a “multi-hyphenated artist” from Poughkeepsie, NY, who is an actor, singer, dancer, model, writer and creative director. “I love to be a part of making the impact that inspires and motivates them to transform and turn into the best versions of themselves.”

First-time artist-in-residence Toni Llanos agreed.

“Being here, I think I can say, is rewarding in so many ways,” said Toni, a dancer who taught the Hope group, ages 8-10. “The children are ready and open to receive. They’re engaging and loving. As an educator, that’s what we long for — to be able to share what we have with people that are open and willing to try things out, try things that are new to them.”

And trying new things often requires courage — which was especially relevant for the children, because the theme of this year’s camp was “Courageous.”

“What’s been really amazing is that a lot of these kids have been so courageous to try a lot of new things that they weren’t really comfortable doing,” said Angel. “And to me that was super inspiring.”

Julio Herrera of New York City, who is a musician, writer, arranger, producer, audio engineer and bandleader, came to Camp for the first time this year. What touched him most was being able to make a difference in campers’ lives.

“I worked with the Empowerment kids, which is the teenagers, and I think it’s a privilege to do that, because at the time that they’re coming up, I remember that somebody influenced me,” Julio said.

Others, like Bettina “Poet Gold” Wilkerson, spoke of the ways in which RMM’s mission and vision resonates with them.

“I’ve been doing the work with Rural & Migrant Ministry for close to a decade, and for me, what’s really important about what they do is the hearts they touch here with the children of migrant farmworkers,” as well other children across New York State, she said. “[RMM’s] mission to change, their mission to transform through the arts and their support of that is also something that speaks to my heart.”

Equally important, Poet Gold said, is RMM’s commitment to activism. “I’m an artist-activist, and RMM’s mission is to transform campers’ lives by empowering them to be able to make decisions for themselves and critically think about the decisions that they make.”

Actress, storyteller, director and teaching artist Joy Kelly Smith, another longtime artist educator at Overnight Camp, agreed.

“It’s just such a joy because of the way people are, the peace and the diversity, and the way we are — the activism. I love it because this is how I grew up,” Joy said. “My father was a civil rights activist, and so it’s part of what my life has been since I was a child. And this is just an extension of it. It’s such a special place for me.”

For Estuardo Bonilla, who makes his living as a visual artist and an educator, it’s important to surround the campers with this larger sense of purpose. Estuardo has been involved with RMM for some 15 years.

“What you do when you come, and you become a part of RMM,” he said, “is you become a part of a community and a family that also does a lot of really wonderful stuff for people that might have needs, might not have needs, but all in all, it’s in service of people. And that’s what matters.”

And though the children devote tremendous effort and energy in working with the artists, perhaps the best gift they receive for one week in the summer is that they can simply be children: They are completely free to laugh, sing, dance and play.

“We have children that are usually working during the summer, taking care of their relatives and such, so this is a beautiful and unique opportunity for a child to be a child again,” Andrés said. “They come with a lot of challenges, but at the same time, they have beautiful hopes and dreams, and we empower each other.”