TEENSWAY 2023: BUILDING CHARACTER

September 2023 through March 15, 2024 in the Frank Fujii Youth Gallery

ABOUT TEENSWAY

Ages 10-14
Wing Luke Museum
Saturdays, April 20 - June 1
Free Program

TeensWay students of all experience levels explore art techniques, learn about creative practice, and experiment with different art mediums in this free program for middle schoolers. Teaching Artists and museum staff facilitate lessons in creative practice which culminates in a student show in Wing Luke Museum in the Frank Fujii Youth Space Gallery.

Every student, regardless of past art experience and art confidence, is welcomed and invited to create with us!

Teaching artist Champ Ensminger taught our Teensway students to discover the ways that artists craft and create the characters that compel us all to keep watching, reading, playing, and listening to all of our favorite stories. Throughout the class, we’ll explore how writers and artists develop characters for a wide range of stories and projects. From tabletop roleplay games to nonfiction documentaries, we’ll discover the importance of the intersection of understanding, empathy, literary arts, and visual arts in creating the characters we all love and remember. Champ will share his experience as a storyteller and filmmaker with our cohort of Teensway participants.  

During the class students can expect to learn more about creative writing, figure drawing, storytelling, and character development. All of the program will take place in-person at our museum, located in the heart of the Chinatown-International District. 

ABOUT THE TEACHING ARTIST

Champ Ensminger is a Thai American filmmaker born in Chiang Mai and raised in Spokane, Washington. After graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle with a degree in comparative literature and anthropology, he moved to New York City, where he worked at the video hosting site Vimeo and then as a freelancer and production assistant at the web agency m ss ng p eces. He returned to Chiang Mai in 2013, where he spent time as a volunteer and workshop instructor at Documentary Arts Asia, a nonprofit aimed at bringing agency and exposure to Asia-based media artists. Recently, he earned the Emerging Artist Fellowship at the Jacob Burns Film Center. His recent works include the documentary short film Yai Nin as well as Paths of the Prism, a roleplaying fantasy game that utilizes social media and MidJourney AI to create a unique collaborative storytelling experience.   

Photo credit: Canh Nguyen