Mohawk Valley Community College’s School of Art is offering a free summer workshop series designed to give local high school students a meaningful preview of college-level arts education. The Rising Senior Experience — open to students ages 16 and 17 — takes place during July 2026 at MVCC’s Utica Campus, 1101 Sherman Drive.
Students will work in college classrooms and labs for hands-on exploration of graphic design, photography, game art, theater arts, and videography, gaining skills and creative confidence before their senior year. Funding for the workshops was provided by Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES.
Each workshop consists of two sessions — morning (9 a.m.-noon) and afternoon (1-4 p.m.). While students may attend individual workshop sessions, they are encouraged to participate in both for a more comprehensive and enriching experience.
All workshops are free and open to high school students ages 16 and 17. Space is limited. For more information and to register, visit https://www.campusce.net/mvcc/course/course.aspx?catId=117
Workshop offerings:
Logos and Photos
Monday-Thursday, July 20-23: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
This workshop is an exploration of visual design and photography. In the first half, students will learn the fundamentals of graphic design and logo creation using Adobe Illustrator, developing a personal brand identity grounded in an understanding of image-text relationships and typography. They will then convert their designs into screen-printing artwork and produce custom T-shirts. The second half of the workshop focuses on photography — using smartphones, DSLRs, and Adobe Lightroom to capture expressive images while building technical skills in exposure, histograms, and metadata.
Mythical Realms: World-Building, Visual Development, and Character Design
Monday-Thursday, July 20-23: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
This workshop will teach students to design original fantasy worlds and characters while developing skills in visual storytelling. The first half of the week is devoted to world-building — brainstorming, sketching, and developing the cultures, environments, architecture, and lore of an original fantasy setting. In the second half, students shift to character design, crafting a fully realized fantasy character complete with a backstory, personality, anatomy, costume, and expression. Final projects include a character turnaround sheet, pose studies, and illustrated key story moments.
Mythical Realms: Digital Sculpting, Modeling, and Texturing
Monday-Thursday, July 27-30: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
Building on the concepts introduced in the first “Mythical Realms” workshop — or as a standalone experience — this session covers the 3D digital art pipeline used in game development and animation. In the first half, students will digitally sculpt fantasy artifacts, relics, or statues, learning to block out forms, add surface detail, and create objects rich with story. In the second half, students will create game- and animation-ready 3D assets by modeling, unwrapping, texturing, and rendering a detailed prop or environment piece.
Stage to Screen: The Flip-Side Stories
Monday-Thursday, July 27-30: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
This immersive workshop blends theatrical performance with modern film production. Each day starts with students diving into the foundations of stage acting, character development, and storytelling in the theater. Then they transition to the film set, where they direct original shorts reimagining their classical theatrical characters in modern-day settings. The week culminates in a screening event where students present their completed films.
About the MVCC School of Art
MVCC’s School of Art offers programs in Digital Media and Marketing, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Game Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Motion Media, Photography, Theater Arts, and Video Production. Learn more: https://www.mvcc.edu/academics/arts/index.php
