The rocky cliff side
imbued with gree and crimson
ever in my dreams

A lovely moment
shattered by the biting fiends
those little devils,

First the kangaroo
Then, all these awesome people.
Thanks, Australia

If for nothing else
Than, for the same of awesome
You rock, Bauen Camp!

Andrew Gumm
2003 Bauen Camper

Prospective campers and their parents ask us what makes the Bauen Camp different from other camps.

We are happy to respond:

* We begin by working with the greatest diversity of outstanding organizations, campers and staff that we can find.

* Once the staff and campers arrive, we focus on the connection between art and the world around us. Kids learn art skills, but they also learn that art is not something which exists in its own little world.

* We teach young people how to exchange ideas about challenging social and cultural issues, and how to express that exchange through the arts, enhancing their understanding of the role they play in creating the world they want to live in.

* We teach interpersonal and group communication skills because we know that without those no amount of technical skills in the arts matter.

* We provide time for play because we know that play teaches creativity, fostering “other ways of seeing” than the way things have always been.

* We teach youth how they can use many different kinds of art as instruments of positive change, in their own lives and in the lives of their families and communities.

* We are youth advocates. We believe in the spirit and energy of youth. We offer young people the opportunity to participate in the identification, design, development and implementation of projects, ultimately sharing their work with the public.

* Young artists at the Bauen Camp also have the opportunity to be deeply immersed in the natural world, building a connection between art and nature, addressing the relationship between human beings and nature.

* Lastly, young artists at the Bauen Camp have the opportunity to be immersed in the intimate setting of an artist's home and life.

These are the ingredients that give youth the necessary building blocks for a unique learning experience.

     At the Bauen Camp, campers are surrounded by the huge landscape, its sounds and smells and light and space, and the traditions of this western country. We attend the Sheridan Rodeo, hike in the terrain, swim the river, study the night skies, dance the square dance and listen to the stories of local lives and local history. We learn about ourselves in relationship to this new place. We learn about each other, too, and begin to build our own community.