Summer Arts Camps
Centauri Arts offers exciting summer arts camps designed especially for older kids and teens. Join us in our West Toronto studio – and virtually – for Acting Skills, Fine Art, Creative Writing, Film-making, Photography, Digital Art, Animation and more.
2025 Summer Arts Camps & Programs
Now entering our 30th year, Centauri Arts is a leader in arts education in Toronto and beyond. Join us for a choice of 17 inspiring arts camps this summer: creative writing, fine art, animation camps, film-making, digital art, acting camps and more! Most of our arts camps take place in our studio in Bloor West Village (in west Toronto) but we also offer virtual summer programs, too!
Our summer camps are unique: we cater primarily to older youth aged 9-17. We offer a specialist focus on just one activity and a faculty of experienced arts professionals to be outstanding role models for our campers. Our summer ‘camps’ are shorter, too: with four intensive hours each day, teenagers gain from arts immersion, and still have time to relax, find a job or spend time with friends.
Our summer arts programs are offered in two blocks:
10am to 2.30pm and
3pm to 7.30pm daily.
Register early to avoid disappointment: each program is limited to just 12 participants!
Fees:
In-Studio Summer Camp Programs (1 week, 4 hours per day): $349 (discounts for multiple camps)
Virtual Summer Camp Programs (1 week, 4 hours per day): $275 (discounts for multiple camps)
SUMMER ARTS PROGRAMS
Creative Writing: How to Write a Novel
Ages 11-17
Monday 30th June – Friday 4th July
10am to 2.30pm
How do you plot the perfect novel? Create the ideal protagonist? Adapt your own experiences into exciting fiction? Should you write in first or third person? Past or present tense? We’ll answer these questions and more! You’ll work solo and in groups to weave exciting and original stories, and every writer will create a novel synopsis and first chapter of their own. Come […]
Animation Creations
Ages 11-17
Monday 30th June – Friday 4th July 2025
3pm-7.30pm
Develop the skills you need to bring your wildest and most creative ideas to life in 2-D animations! With all-new content, you can enjoy this camp even if you’ve taken programs with us before. Create original digital art masterpieces and learn how to animate them. View famous animations for inspiration and discover how to make the most of open-source software to create and animate […]
Creative Writing: for the JOY of Words!
Ages 11-17
Monday 7 July-Friday 11 July
10am to 2.30pm
In this varied and playful creative writing camp, we’ll explore words and stories in every way possible. We’ll play word games, collaborate on stories, try spoken word poetry, invent language and create word collages. We’ll write song lyrics, turn the entire studio into a poem, create our own books, make wearable word art and end with an amazing zine we will write and illustrate together. What […]
Fine Art: Everything But the Paint!
Ages 11-17
Monday 7th July- Friday 11th July
3pm-7.30pm
The title says it all! In this art program we will sketch, sculpt, learn how to make books, collage, create wearable art and work with all kinds of materials… except for paint! We’ll work solo and collaborate, hunker down in the studio and head out into the neighbourhood to make art. Create amazing art pieces and functional objects as we introduce you to new projects every day. […]
Creative Writing and Fine Art: Create a Graphic Novel
Ages 11-17
Monday 14th July – Friday 18th July
10am – 2.30pm
Do you enjoy art as well as creative writing? If so, this program is for you! You’ll spend Monday and Tuesday exploring story structure, devising characters and building an outline for the graphic novel you want to create. Take workshops in comic book illustration as you experiment with different illustration styles, then work with an artist to bring your story to visual life on […]
Humans of Toronto: A Devised Theatre Project
Ages 11-17
Monday 14 July – Friday 18 July
3pm-7.30pm
Research, write, rehearse and stage your own original performance. We’ll go out into the community together, observing people and listening to their stories. Who are the ‘humans’ who live in Toronto? What are their dreams, their secrets and their stories? We’ll bring our discoveries back to the studio, take workshops in mask, improvisation and character… then we’ll start to devise our play. Work as an […]
Photography & Photo Editing
Ages 11-17
Monday 21st July – Friday 25th July
10am to 2.30pm each day
Learn to take great photographs as you participate in photographic assignments in our studio and on location. Discover nature photography, portraiture, macro, architectural photography and more. Learn how to use SLR camera features, and to take amazing shots with only your phone. Towards the end of the week, we will turn to editing! We’ll teach you how to make the most of […]
Film Production: Spectacular Silent Movies
Ages 9-15
Monday 21 July – Friday 25 July
3pm – 7.30pm
Virtual Writing Salon
Ages 11-17
Monday 21 July – Friday 25 July
3pm to 7.30pm each day (with an hour’s break for dinner)
Immerse yourself in creative writing from the comfort of your home, garden or cottage! Develop characters, build stories, create unique settings and learn all about tension, dialogue and mood as you respond to exciting and varied writing prompts. Whether you love poetry, fantasy, science fiction, action/adventure […]
Film Production: Alien Invasion!
Ages 11-17
Monday 28 July – Friday 1 August
10am – 2.30pm
Make a short film in just 5 days! Learn by doing, as you devise your plot, create a storyboard, write the script, scout locations, and film! We’ll work collaboratively in the studio and out in the neighbourhood, creating a movie that will take everyone’s skills to the next level. Learn about lighting, sound, directing, camera work and more as you experience life on set […]
Fine Art: Timeless Treasures
Ages 11-17
Monday 28th July – Friday 1st August
3pm-7.30pm
Take your inspiration from classical and contemporary artists as you paint, draw and sculpt your way through the week! Experiment with drawing styles and techniques, then move on to painting projects as you work with acrylics and watercolour. Artists of all levels are welcome – including young people working on portfolios for arts school applications. Discover technical and creative drawing and painting skills, get inspired by […]
Creative Writing: Writing for TV…Life in a Writers’ Room
Ages 11-17
Monday 4 August- Friday 8 August
10am to 2.30pm
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to write for television? Well, this is your chance to find out! Experience life in a Writer’s Room as you work collaboratively with other writers to devise an original TV series. We’ll teach you how to sculpt a story, build unforgettable characters and write amazing dialogue. You’ll learn why writing for television relies on well-structured plot […]
Digital Art: The Dragon Quest
Ages 11-17
Monday 4 August-Friday 8 August
3pm – 7.30pm
Join us for a unique camp experience: a combination of DIGITAL ART and ROLE PLAY GAME! Each day, we’ll generate ideas for an original fantasy world, bringing that world to life on our screens as we draw, paint and sculpt. You’ll build your own character, using it for role play as we enlarge the story we create together. Join us for this exciting Fine Art Quest […]
Fine Art: Comic Creations and Cartoon Magic
Ages 9-15
Monday 11th August-Friday 15th August
10am to 2.30pm
Are you a fan of superheroes and villains? Do you love making cartoons and comic books? In this exciting art program, you will create landscapes and characters, bringing your own imaginary world to life in comic strips. We’ll teach you all the skills you need to create cartoons in different styles… Anime, Manga, Chibi… but this program is also about building stories and making […]
The Art of Screenwriting
Ages 11-17
Monday 11 August- Friday 15 August
3pm – 7.30pm
In this fast-paced and varied program for writers and filmmakers, you will learn how to structure a story for film and how to create compelling, fast-moving plots. We’ll be teaching you how to outline your screenplay and how to create characters an audience will love (or love to hate!). You’ll write elevator pitches for an original feature film idea and write a short film script. Learn […]
Creative Writing: Write a book!
Ages 9-15
Monday 18th August- Friday 22nd August
10am-2.30pm
In this fast-paced and varied creative writing program, younger writers get to try it all! You’ll create poems, describe fantasy landscapes, build alien worlds, write true-to-life conflict, devise plots for stories, create screenplays and experiment with words games. Next, you’ll receive your own ‘book’ to fill with your favourite writing pieces. Use art to illustrate your book if you wish, and end up with a […]
Film Production: Action Adventure Movies
Ages 11-17
Monday 18 August -Friday 22 August
3pm-7.30pm
Make a short film in just 5 days! Learn by doing, as you devise your plot, create a storyboard, write the script, scout locations, and film! We’ll work collaboratively in the studio and out in the neighbourhood, creating a movie that will take everyone’s skills to the next level. Learn about lighting, sound, directing, camera work and more as you experience life on set – plus, act […]
Our 2024 Summer Camp Instructors
Inspirational and experienced professionals who LOVE to teach – this is how we describe the instructors who work with us at Centauri Arts! Most stay with us for years, mentoring the creative young people who take their classes. Here’s just a few of the fabulous arts professionals who will be leading our summer programs this year! Acting Camp Programs Marina Gomes - Acting Instructor Born in Toronto, Marina Gomes is a storyteller who aspires to create work that is innovative, thought provoking and entertaining! A graduate of the University of Windsor BFA-Acting program, Marina has trained with members of the [...]
Best Summer Arts Camp Near Bloor West Village, Toronto
Centauri Arts offers, week-long arts camp programs for ages 11-17 throughout the summer, virtually and in our Toronto arts studio in Bloor West Village, close to Swansea, The Junction, Baby point and High Park neighborhoods. Our half-day programs run for four hours each day in 2 blocks: 11am to 3.30pm and 4pm to 8.30pm. Immerse yourself in the arts this summer! While we call these ‘day camps’, they focus only on the arts – and they are designed for middle and high school students. So, if you are thinking "are there any good summer arts camps near me?" [...]
“Our son loves the community, looks up to all the counsellors, thrives in the arts programs and is always so happy there. We know it is the people who make Centauri so magical and memorable and safe.”
“Now I understand why kids love camp so much.”
