Meet Mario Robinson | Founder & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mario Robinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mario, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted a way to give back to my family and community in a way that would increase their value. I thought that this could be done by teaching them the creative skills that I had learned and been taught over the years. Lastly, I decided to focus on the youth in hopes of following their journey’s to adulthood. This was the start of Uncle Art Camp, LLC.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Uncle Art Camp, LLC is a family owned and operated company that teaches art to kids K-12. Each year we host a camp on the week of the fourth of July and allow the kids the option of staying overnight. We cook their meals, and teach them multiple arts lessons each day. We are a S.T.E.A.M. based organization so we incorporate science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics in the week long programming. We want the kids to see and experience men in roles that they may not normally see such as teaching, cooking, cleaning, working together, and moving in unity. We started with a small group of kids that were family members and learned so many lessons in that first year. It was very expensive to feed our kids 3 meals per day plus snacks. The overnight kids would get restless after the final days lessons and we needed to extend programming well into the evening hours. The kids found boxing gloves and almost started a fight club one year. So now we make sure we provide night time activities for those staying overnight to avoid them making their own. This year was our 4th year of @UncleArtCamp and we learned the community loved pitching in to help us and we got more kids than ever participating. Projects from our camp made it into a student art exhibition for the South Cobb Arts Alliance and we won 3rd place in the high school art category. This same student is set to graduate months early from high school and attend college. We also gave our first college scholarship to a year one alumni who is attending North Carolina A&T this year. This was tangible evidence that our program works. Proof that providing consistent mentorship and opportunity for our youth to be creative encourages them to know their paths, understand their value, and set measurable goals that they WILL accomplish.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love our family experience so would start a few days with a breakfast at each of the Uncle’s houses in Paulding County, GA. We would visit The High Museum of Art (www.high.org) and the Beltline (www.beltline.org/visit) in Atlanta to get into the city and be inspired while we walk off breakfast. We would take a trip to Powder Springs, GA (www.cityofpowdersprings.org) to visit the friends we have made in their historic downtown area. This would include lunch at SGC Chicken @ Seafood (www.smithsgourmetcreations.com). Of course we would show them our art gallery and podcast filming studio (www.8robinsons.com) in Acworth, GA and maybe even do a photo/video shoot for them. While there we would visit ATL Bench (www.atlbench) where we can collaborate on a group graffiti piece of art and Rockwell Dance Academy (www.rockwelldanceacademy.com) where we would hope to get a kids breakdancing demo! We would have dinner at 1885 Grill Kennesaw (www.1885grill.com/welcome-acworth).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout is dedicated to my dad, Elder Emmitt Robinson, Jr., who has never stopped parenting his kids and also being present for his grandkids. He has been a pastor for the majority of my life and cares for not only his family, but his church family as well. He demonstrated the importance of leading by example daily. He inspired myself and my brothers to organize a business that teaches the youth and follows them through early adulthood. A business that allows us to be, in many ways, a guiding light to those that join our program.

Website: https://uncleartcamp.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncleartcamp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncleartcamp

Image Credits
Photophobic Images
8 Robinsons Brand Management