Art in the Garden is an LGBTQ+ led, liberatory, joy-centered program that began in 2012 at Borland Garden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We use arts, ecology, and mindfulness as vehicles to address the impacts of childhood adversity and trauma. Participants strengthen their abilities to see themselves as creators of positive change for themselves, others, and the planet. All are welcome! / Art in the Garden es un programa liberador, centrado en la alegría, liderado por LGBTQ+ que comenzó en 2012 en Borland Garden en Pittsburgh, Pensilvania. Utilizamos las artes, la ecología y la atención plena como vehículos para abordar los impactos de la adversidad y el trauma infantil. Los participantes fortalecen sus habilidades para verse a sí mismos como creadores de cambios positivos para ellos mismos, los demás y el planeta. ¡Todos son bienvenidos!
Unless otherwise noted, all programs are held at Borland Garden in East Liberty @ 527 North Beatty Street. Many of our programs are offered in Spanish and English. / A menos que se indique lo contrario, todos los programas se llevan a cabo en Borland Garden en East Liberty @ 527 North Beatty Street. Muchos de nuestros programas se ofrecen en español e inglés.
Horsing Around / Aventuras con Caballos
Register HERE / Inscríbete AQUÍ
- WHO: Ages 7-14 / QUIEN: edades 7-14
- WHEN/ CUANDO: June 22, 9am-1pm
- TEACHERS/MAESTRES: Emily Carlson and Elizabeth Green
- Max. 18 participants /Máx. 18 participantes
- Note: This is a Blackburn Farms Camp and takes place in Sewickley, PA. / Nota: Este es un campamento de Blackburn Farms y se lleva a cabo en Sewickley, PA
Join us for a special day with horses at this Blackburn Farms Camp! Campers will learn about horse care, grooming, and communication, while participating in activities that build confidence, empathy, and teamwork. Through guided exercises and games with horses, children will connect with these amazing animals, explore emotional awareness, and enjoy a day full of learning, laughter, and new friendships! Note: this is not a horseback riding camp but a camp that focuses on the relationship campers can build with horses out of the saddle.
Los campistas aprenderán sobre el cuidado de los caballos, el aseo y la comunicación, mientras participan en actividades que fomentan la confianza, la empatía y el trabajo en equipo. A través de ejercicios guiados y juegos con los caballos, los niños se conectarán con estos increíbles animales, explorarán la conciencia emocional y disfrutarán de un día lleno de aprendizaje, risas y nuevas amistades. Nota: Este no es un campamento de equitación; se centra en la relación que los campistas pueden construir con los caballos fuera de la silla.
Clowning Workshop
Register HERE
- WHO: Ages 13-100+
- WHEN: Saturday, June 20th 12-4 pm
- TEACHER: Treasure Treasure
- Max. 15 participants
This special Clowning Workshop is led by Treasure Treasure, a teaching artist with over three decades of experience as an actor, singer, dancer, comic, and multi-instrumentalist. In this dynamic one-day experience held in Borland Garden, participants explore the art of theatrical clowning while creating original characters that reflect the full range of human behavior. Through games, improvisation, and exercises, participants explore essential clowning techniques in a supportive, playful environment. The workshop emphasizes confidence, creativity, and connection—encouraging each participant to develop a unique stage presence that will captivate audiences. The day culminates in a live showcase for friends and family. All genders, identities, orientations, and levels of experience are warmly welcomed and celebrated.
MAGIC GARDEN MAKERS
Register HERE / Inscríbete AQUÍ
- WHO: Ages 5-10
- WHEN: July 13-17 & July 20-24, 9am – 1pm
- Aftercare available from 1-3 pm
- TEACHERS: Mai Nguyen and Brooke LaGrand
- Max 18 participants
Get ready for a week of exploring, creating, and discovering! This camp invites kids to dive into the beauty and wonder of the natural world while making new friends and having fun outdoors. Campers will explore Borland Garden to learn about plants, animals, and how everything in nature is interconnected. Through mindful walks and tending to plants with care, we’ll slow down, notice amazing details, and help the garden thrive. Stories and imagination will spark art projects using natural treasures, recycled materials, fibers, and textiles. Along the way, campers will discover their unique gifts and learn how everyone’s strengths make the group stronger. With time for free play, art-making, nature journaling, songs and poetry, and reflection circles, this camp is all about kindness, compassion, teamwork and summer joy.
The theme for week one is: You are a part of nature, nature is a part of you. The theme for week two is: Learning from yourself, each other, and the land.
¡Prepárense para una semana de explorar, crear y descubrir! Este campamento invita a los niños a sumergirse en la belleza y la maravilla del mundo natural mientras hacen nuevos amigos y se divierten al aire libre. Los campistas explorarán el Jardín Borland para aprender sobre las plantas, los animales y cómo todo en la naturaleza está interconectado. A través de caminatas conscientes y del cuidado de las plantas, iremos más despacio, observaremos detalles asombrosos y ayudaremos a que el jardín prospere. Las historias y la imaginación inspirarán proyectos de arte utilizando tesoros naturales, materiales reciclados, fibras y textiles. En el camino, los niños descubrirán sus talentos únicos y aprenderán cómo las fortalezas de cada persona hacen más fuerte al grupo. Con tiempo para el juego libre, la creación artística, diarios de la naturaleza, canciones y poesía, y círculos de reflexión, este campamento celebra la amabilidad, la compasión, el trabajo en equipo y la alegría del verano.
El tema de la primera semana es: Tú eres parte de la naturaleza y la naturaleza es parte de ti. El tema de la segunda semana es: Aprender de uno mismo, de los demás y de la tierra.
FLOW CLUB
Session complete. Teachers/ Maestres: Jodi Iddings and Princess Gonzalez.
In Flow Club, youth have opportunities to express themselves through hula hooping, dance, art-making, and yoga and to deepen their appreciation for the outdoors. “Flow” is a way to move your body in fluidity, expressing yourself through movement without limitations. It is a way to bring you back to the center of yourself and your life. Youth are empowered to become confident leaders and to experience themselves as creators of positive change, gaining life skills that carry them far beyond their teen years. Flow Club is offered in Spanish and English.
En Flow Club, los adolescentes tienen oportunidades de expresarse a través del hula-hoop, el baile y el yoga y de profundizar su aprecio por el aire libre. “Flow” es una forma de mover tu cuerpo con fluidez, expresándote a través del movimiento sin limitaciones. Es una forma de devolverte al centro de ti mismo y de tu vida. Los adolescentes están capacitados para convertirse en líderes seguros y sentirse a sí mismos como creadores de cambios positivos, adquiriendo habilidades para la vida que los llevarán mucho más allá de la adolescencia. Flow Club se ofrece en español e inglés.
MURAL ARTS CLUB
Session complete. Teachers Max “Gems” Gonzales and Emily Carlson and teen leaders.
In Mural Arts Club, youth ages 7-15 have opportunities to express themselves through the art they create—in their notebooks, in the lasting mural they paint at Bruno’s Garage, and beyond. Led by Max “Gems” Gonzales, this six-session after-school club forges a collaborative approach to making murals and empowers students to reimagine the streets on which we walk and the world in which we live. Students will consider questions of just development, community history, and identity. This club creates space for students to challenge barriers as they create a lasting mural that fosters love and solidarity and justice.
This Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media Artist Residency Project in partnership with Art in the Garden is being led by Painter/Graphic Artist Max Gonzales. It is supported by Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Project (HCUAP) and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media.
Herbalism Camp/
Campamento de herboristería
Summer 2025 session complete. Teachers/Maestres Sten Carlson, Nina Ingram, Princes Gonzalez. Students grades 2-6.
At Herbalism Camp, students have opportunities to learn how to grow and harvest herbs, make teas, concoctions, balms, and healing salves, and understand the power of plant medicine as they build deeper relationships with themselves, each other, and the earth. Campers will also learn about how plants create biodiversity and sequester carbon to help mitigate climate change, play collaborative games, and build lasting friendships. Taught in English and Spanish.
En Herbalism Camp, los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de aprender a cultivar y cosechar hierbas, preparar tés, brebajes, bálsamos y ungüentos curativos, y comprender el poder de las plantas medicinales a medida que construyen relaciones más profundas con ellos mismos, entre sí y con la tierra. Los estudiantes también aprenderán cómo las plantas crean biodiversidad y secuestran carbono para ayudar a mitigar el cambio climático, jugarán juegos colaborativos y construirán amistades duraderas. Impartido en inglés y español.
Graffiti Camp
Vision for the future: Join us for this week-long camp to learn graffiti arts skills and create a lasting mural in East Liberty. Students will consider what matters to them and envision what messages they want to spread. Questions they will consider include: How would you reimagine a blank wall? What is the city you would like to see? What does justice mean to you? Students will become adept at using spray paint and considering composition, color theory, and scale as they create a mural together. This camp fosters love, solidarity and justice and empowers students to challenge barriers and give voice to their dreams.
COST: In order to promote economic justice, Art in the Garden uses a sliding scale fee. / COSTO: Para promover la justicia económica, Art in the Garden utiliza una tarifa de escala móvil. REGISTRATION: Registration is limited. o promote equitable access, we give priority to participants from low-income communities; Black, Indigenous, Latinx/e, and other communities of color; and those who are transgender or nonbinary. / La inscripción es limitada. Para promover un acceso equitativo, damos prioridad a participantes de comunidades de bajos ingresos; comunidades negras, indígenas, latinas/latinx/e y otras comunidades de color; y a personas transgénero o no binarias.
¿PREGUNTAS? QUESTIONS? artinthegardenpgh@gmail.com / 412.592.5711
Collaborators
Talented teaching artists and ecologists provide unique experiences for youth and families at Art in the Garden. We are a community that welcomes the whole of each person and values our interconnection. Teaching artists and ecologists empower youth and build confidence, giving youth opportunities to experience themselves as agents of positive change. Art in the Garden supports each youth’s ability to thrive and live their fullest expressions of themselves.
Pittsburgh Forest Garden led by Sten Carlson is a response to the rapid pace of global climate change and growing anxiety among youth about its effects on their future. Its purpose is to create a network of food forest school gardens to serve as outdoor classrooms where youth engage in the regenerative practices needed to help mitigate climate change. Campers learn about and contribute to the emerging field of carbon farming, improve ecosystem health, increase food security, beautify their community, and produce high yields from edible and medicinal plants. Using an ecological systems approach, youth explore how their physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being is intimately connected with their environment; youth have opportunities to act as creators and agents of ecological healing in areas about which they are most passionate, including innovative approaches to gardening/agriculture as a way of undoing harm that has led to climate change.
Bird Lab led by Nick Liadis, explores questions related to migratory songbirds whose journeys span oceans and continents every year to make Pennsylvania their home. Campers engage activities around nest building, bird song, and the role of native plants.
Sankofa Village for the Arts led by Travis Scott and Toddja Thornhill teaches campers West African drumming using sound and movement as tools for building self-esteem, self-discipline, self-determination, and self-sufficiency.
The Mural Art Project led by Max “Gems” Gonzales, Jerome “Chu” Charles, and Shane Pilster, is a collaboration with Rivers of Steel Arts (ROSA) and Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Project (HCUAP). Youth learn graffiti and mural arts skills while building community and are empowered to challenge barriers and give voice to their dreams. Youth have opportunities to create lasting murals that foster love and solidarity and justice.
The Andy Warhol Museum explores the migration of birds and how artists like Andy Warhol raise awareness about social issues through their art. Using Warhol’s Endangered Species series as a springboard, youth explore topics of migration, rare birds, local birds, and native vegetation. Youth make silkscreen prints on paper, pillowcases, and t-shirts and canvass bags.
Street Art DeVaughn Rodgers and Kuwame Kinsel lead our youngest campers and teen leaders in art exploration. Campers will create banners using basic techniques found in mural making and other forms of street art. Campers will learn about blends and fades and stencils and block prints in this two-session experience. This project is a collaboration with Rivers of Steel Arts (ROSA) and Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Project (HCUAP).
Drumming and dancing with Miguel Sague III, a professional musical and bandleader who teaches Afro-Latin Percussion and Afro-Latin Dance with the use of storytelling and audience participation. Campers learn about the Conga and its roots in Africa as well as about some of its companion instruments and their uses. Campers dance the dances, play instruments, and sing along!
Reading is FUNdamental Pittsburgh (RIF) brings stories, activities, books, and literary resources to Art in the Garden. When RIF visits, campers choose a free book to expand their home libraries.
Affirming, Strengths-Based Mental Health Support is available on site for campers and staff and includes options for individual counseling on-site with licensed social worker (LSW). Campers are supported with strategies to address anxiety and build confidence. Our counselor is also available to connect families interested in long-term counseling with therapists in the area. Our counselor’s therapeutic approach is holistic, nurturing, responsive, and curious, and she often incorporates mindfulness, movement, and art.
Earthen Vessels provides healthy, plant-based breakfast and lunch for free to every camper. Campers compost any leftovers and experience the benefits of healthy soil and growing grow food they get to enjoy!
Pittsburgh Community Science Workshop visits empower campers to grow academically, and expand their confidence, through hands-on science and creative ingenuity.
Tree Pittsburgh teaches youth about restoring and protecting the urban forest through tree planting and care, education, advocacy, and land conservation.
Art in the Garden 