FEBRUARY 2022

CONNECTING COMMUNITES

One of my first memories was attending The Nutcracker with my grandmother and aunt when I was about two years old. I was drawn into the story from the moment the lights went down and so inspired by the dancing that I spent most of the evening twirling in the aisle along with the show. My grandmother told me more than once I was never the same after that night, that everything from then on was about dance, theater, and music. Such is the power of art on a young person.

 When you recall those long-ago days in elementary school, is it the reading lessons that come to mind? Learning about vowels and consonants and how to find the main idea. Not me, at least. I remember the art projects, the plays, and music class.

 Arts education has the capacity to reach young people, to draw them in. A creative project can give a child a sense of being seen, a place where their own ideas and stories are welcome, a faith of sorts wherein a person’s instincts have a place to manifest themselves into a tangible product. At South Fulton Institute, we help make the arts possible for our partner schools.

 Bear Creek Middle School in Fairburn, Georgia has been an Institute partner for four years. We’ve brought in plays, a rap-music masterclass, drums for the drama class, and art supplies to support the faculty’s work. Back in December, we asked Dr. Lauren Moret from Bear Creek’s Visual Arts department to help us decorate our offices with student art. Now on our walls are colorful displays of original work–faces, mandalas, geometrics, and still lifes. This has elevated our space from a set of offices to a gallery.

One of these images became the graphic for our 2021 holiday card. Seventh grader Jordin Bowman used colored pencils to create a mandala with complimentary color schemes.The contrast between the cool blue and warm yellows and oranges draws the eye to the center of the composition. The end result is a drawing that has rhythm and unity. When I look at it, I’m reminded of how it felt to be young and inspired.

I Zoomed with Jordin to learn a bit about her. No surprise of course: she loves art. I asked her why. “It feels good,” she said, “I have freedom. I’m putting myself in what I make, my emotions and feelings and what I like.” I asked if she recalled when she first realized she loved making art. “It was in the first grade,” she said. “I remember I drew a fairy in art class and a lot of people liked it and I enjoyed doing it.” She said it makes her happy that her work ended up on our holiday card and in our office. “It makes me feel good that my art is getting spread around and people are seeing it other than the people at school.”

Dr. Moret relates that the students were empowered by this project, that they felt elated when they learned their work would be out there in the world somewhere, formally present in a place of business. “It meant quite the world to them,” Moret says.

 Just like The Nutcracker meant quite the world to me.