Arts in Emanuel
Art and our schools
Joan Dunn

With the beginning of the school year I was inspired to write about art in our local schools by looking back at the accomplishments of the last school year. Not only are there excellent fine arts classes in our schools with amazing teachers, the Emanuel Arts Council works to expand the arts experience for our students.

The Emanuel County Board of Education works closely with the EAC to bring performing arts into our schools. With help from the Mill Creek Foundation, the LaPetite Series for Young Audiences presented performances by the Academy Theatre of Atlanta and the Puppet People of Savannah during the last school year. Bullies and Bystanders and The Bully Breakdown were seen by 1,200 students from Swainsboro Middle School, Swainsboro Elementary and Emanuel County Institute. The Puppet People were enjoyed by 1500 children from Emanuel Pre-K, Swainsboro Primary, David Emanuel Academy, Twin City Elementary, and the Adrian School of Performing Arts.

Guided gallery tours are also organized for area students. Sixty-five TCE fifth graders visited the exhibit at the Kalmanson by artist Tim Clay whose parents and sister live in Twin City. Photographs by Cesar Perkowski, stories, songs and boomerangmaking helped 147 Head Start students learn about Australia. Eileen Dudley's portraits of the Flanders Family were discussed by 249 Swainsboro Middle School students who then created self-portraits as they learned about feature placement.

Other learning opportunities for our children presented by the EAC include Super (Second) Saturday Arts & Crafts workshops each month at the Arts Center. Over the summer, three separate fine art camps allowed young people to experience visual arts, theater, and music. The Stillmoreroots Group taught the visual arts camp. "Tools of the Actor" was presented by the Tell Tale Theater of Atlanta. East Georgia College's Anna Thibeault and Mark Lillquist from ECI were the instructors for the Music Makers camp.

Home-schooled students will benefit from visits to the Kalmanson and the Gallery RFD, where staff are happy to discuss the work currently on display. Since there are new exhibitions at both locations each month, there are many opportunities to learn.

The Second Saturday Art Stroll provides several venues throughout Swainsboro to view art. Following the stroll there is music on the Boneyard- a chance to experience a variety of musical performances in person. This is great for adults with or without children.

And of course there is Arts Emanuel which celebrates the arts in our community and provides a day of family fun. Interactive art projects, live performances, and art exhibits are featured with the focus on children. This year WTOC's Magic Marc will perform. His magic is combined with learning, and fun. Arts Emanuel takes place on Saturday October 13 and is followed by the Second Saturday Art Stroll.

There are lots of opportunities to learn about the arts in Emanuel County in our schools and through the Emanuel Arts Council. You can visit EmanuelArts. org or GalleryRFD.org for more information.--Joan Dunn is an artist, member of the Emanuel Arts Council Board of Directors and President of the Emanuel Artists Guild. She is interested in learning about creative arts efforts throughout the area. Contact her at joan-of-art@nctv.com.

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