Summer at The Academy

Summer intensives for middle schoolers in each arts department.

Thank you for joining the 2024 Summer Program!

Registration for the 2025 Summer Program will open in early November. See below for pictures from this year’s intensive.

The Academy provides a summer arts intensive for students who will be in 7th, 8th, or 9th grades in the fall of 2025. At the end of the program, friends and family are invited to a showcase of the work students produced throughout the intensive. Please reach out to Nina Karakos and Gavin Schultz, Co-Directors of Middle School Programs, with any questions. More details about each program are available below.

Who: The Academy Summer Program is for students going into the 7th, 8th & 9th grades. The program is for students serious about the arts.
What: The registration fee is $995. To sign up for a payment plan, please contact us at programs@chicagoartsacademy.org. The Academy does not provide lunch, so students should bring food with them each day.
Where: The Chicago Academy for the Arts 1010 W. Chicago Avenue Chicago, IL 60642
When: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on weekdays in June.

Summer Program Courses

Courses for the 2025 Summer Program will be released in November

Featured

Dance Intensive

The Dance Department's Summer Intensive will focus on ballet, modern, jazz and contemporary techniques as well as improvisation and body conditioning. Students will also learn actual repertoire performed by the Chicago Academy for the Arts student community. Classes will be taught by Academy faculty, master teachers, and current working professionals from companies like Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Giordano Dance Chicago and Visceral Dance Company.

Storytelling in Media

The Media Arts Department Summer Program aims to give students experience in the different storytelling and creative paths of Film, Animation, Photography and Creative Writing that comprise the Media Arts Department at The Academy.

Creative Musicians for Social Change

Students in the Music Department Summer Program will work collaboratively to create, record, and perform an EP of three original songs in The Academy's professional recording studio. The music created will be powerful and express the emotions and thoughts young people have about the social justice topics of their choice.

What You Will—A Shakespearean Musical Review

Anything Goes in the world of a Shakespearean comedy. Deception, Fools, Disguises, Fights, Shipwrecks, Love, and, of course, random Musical interludes! This summer, we explore all this and more during two weeks of games, music, theater, movement and comedy. At the end of this program, we will put on an original musical adaptation of one of Shakepeare’s most popular works. So join us, for What You Will!

Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Weaving, and Sculpture

The Visual Arts Summer Program mirrors the Academy Visual Arts Department’s curriculum and will pair teaching traditional techniques with contemporary art making practices. The week will have a dual focus on developing fundamental skills along with introducing new ways to experiment and explore different ideas and mediums.

The Academy's Summer Program will be held in-person and follow the latest guidelines set by the CDC and local health agencies. Any potential specific safety policies for the program (masking, social distancing, etc.) will be communicated in early June.