The Warwick Center for the Arts’ hall is often filled with paintings for the latest exhibition. But today, feathers, construction paper, white straw hats and Elmer’s glue are scattered on the hall floor. The soundtrack to Disney’s “Moana” blasts from a speaker, and three kids and their camp aide sing along.

It’s the first day of “The Art of Musical Theater,” one of the week-long youth summer camps WCFA has offered for over 25 years. On Friday, students will perform a few songs with handmade props and costumes. Downstairs, campers in “Create Your Own Art Journal” bedazzle paper bags and draw self portraits.

“We have parents who are dropping off their kids now, that were campers themselves,” said Danielle Salisbury, the Center’s executive director.

WCFA offers eight weeks of art camps during the summer, with themes like “Claymaking Ceramics” and “Wearable Art.” Each camp typically enrolls 10 or fewer students per week, with around 65 campers per summer, Salisbury said. Campers have a choice between full and half day sessions. Camperships cost from $200 to $250 and openings are available.

“We have very good instructors,” Salisbury said. “They’re all accomplished artists themselves, and they discount their normal rates to teach at our camps because they just love working with the kids.”

Salisbury became director of the Center four years ago, building on a career in arts administration and advocacy. After studying interior architecture at the Maryland Institute College of Art, she earned a graduate certificate in arts administration from the University of Connecticut.

Alongside her own art, where she works mostly with paper, sculpture and collage, Salisbury volunteered to help out in art classrooms as her kids grew up. “I got to see firsthand the benefits of art for kids,” she said.

“From birth to, let’s say, third grade, they have this freedom of expression, of exploration, and an intuitiveness that somehow seems to start to dwindle after third or fourth grade,” Salisbury said. “By fifth grade, they’re really starting to self-analyze and feel more self-conscious about it.”

These observations fueled her interest in making the arts accessible to families and kids. Under Salisbury’s directorship, WCFA introduced a tuition assistance program for families struggling to pay the full amount. The program draws on donations and provides 50% off tuition for at least one student per session.

 “It’s really, really important to provide these opportunities for kids to feel comfortable exploring and expressing their creativity in a safe environment,” Salisbury said.