Upjohn Park got a little more colorful Wednesday evening as artwork from 50 young Kalamazoo artists was installed not far from Kik Pool.

The panel project was part of Kzoo Parks’ All Things Possible — a free, four-week summer program that offers college and career exploration to Kalamazoo Public Schools students entering their first and second years of high school.

In addition to adventure-driven field trips, the camp offers 30 students per session a chance to explore culinary arts, movie making, horticulture, learn sign language and paint.

Creating public art is a great way to build community, said Kalamazoo Central sophomore Malak E., who enjoyed painting her colorful panel with hearts, a smiley face and the words “Be positive.”

Creating art wasn’t the only thing that excited her about the camp.

“I’m still stuck between what career I want to do, if I want to be a doctor, an engineer, a scientist, I don’t know,” she said. “So, I took this camp as a chance to explore. We’ve been on many field trips, visited local businesses, been to Western a lot on the campus.”

Some of those trips — which are all on Fridays after four days of classes — included visiting the sand dunes, as well as other Michigan cities. The field trips let the students know there is more to Michigan than just Kalamazoo, said Aaryn Wilson, supervisor with Kzoo Parks.

The camp is split into two four-week sessions, one in June and one in July.

Students from both sessions were planning on coming together on Thursday afternoon to celebrate the installation of their artwork at the park, said Erik Vasilauskas, who ran the art workshops with his wife, Anna Lee Roeder.

The work will stay up for at least a year if not longer, said Roeder, who co-founded the couple’s public art project Dream Scene Placemaking with Vasilauskas in 2019.

Some of the artwork from last year’s camps continues to hang at the park, while other pieces from last year may be moved to another park soon, Vasilauskas said.

“I think a lot of the time, we don’t see the ripple effects of our impact,” Roeder said. “We hope it’s planting a small seed that maybe gives someone an extra boost of confidence, just seeing their own work in a public space.”

For students like Eli Bowie, 13, from Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts, one can already see that confidence growing, Wilson said.

By:  Ryan Boldrey  |  mLive