Hooked on Art

The Carnegie Visual Arts Center in Decatur, AL invited the AAEA Art Advocacy Van to bring the Hooked on Art Program to Decatur. Visits to 8 elementary schools and Decatur High School was coordinated by Laura Phillips, Carnegie’s Director. Included at this time was the YAM Art Exhibit at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center.

A multicultural Hooked on Art Program based on Hopi Indian dancers was presented for 7 of the Elementary Schools. Sommerville Road Elementary made Javanese Shadow Puppets and Decatur High art  students experimented with watercolor on YUPO paper. During the 3 days in Decatur, Becky Guinn demonstrated her painting techniques to 6 classes in 3 schools. Paintings were left in two elementary schools for the school’s use. Becky Cairns made the 3 days in Decatur work through preparation, navigation and perspiration!

Decatur Elementary schools “rock!” Their art educators genuinely love their  students and have a passion for the arts. Each school  we visited was  a warm an inviting place to learn. The core teachers, aides and administrators were welcoming, professional and in control of the learning environment. The Hooked on Art staff was greatly impressed. We also had opportunity to visit with some parents and community leaders at the “YEA (Youth-Education-Arts) Decatur!” evening sponsored by Rotary Club of Decatur Daybreak. Support for the arts and Decatur youth by the community was evident.

As you can see, the Hooked on Art  staff enjoyed their  time with the students and teachers of Decatur. We understand, however, there are more schools to visit here . . .

One  highlight of our visit to Decatur came as Mrs. Guinn backed the AAEA art advocacy van up for the Sommerville Road students to see.   The  students began to cheer and clap as one student  yelled, “She can drive!” Their realization was a singular, emotional moment for the adults present.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 4th, 2010 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Hooked on Art Program. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.