A professional artist will be teaching students at Eastside Connections School in Niles how to create class sculptures next month.
Laura Boyce, of the Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, is visiting Eastside as part of Berrien Regional Educational Service Agency’s Arts Partners Program, which supports fine arts education in area schools.
Advising principal to Eastside, Robin Hadrick, said the program fits into the school’s vision of giving students a fine arts experience that goes beyond the average curriculum.
“This experience may be something like they’d get at the high school level, but we are bringing it down to the elementary level,” Hadrick said.
The class sculptures will be featured in an art showcase at the end of the school year.
Students will also take part in a tour of Krasl Art Center sculptures in May as part of the Arts Partners Program.
“It should give the students an in-depth experience on how it would be to create a piece of art that would get sold or end up in a museum,” Hadrick said. “It goes beyond just pinning up artwork on a refrigerator.”
Boyce will at Eastside April 9, 10, 12, 16, 17 and 19.
The Art Partners Program is a partnership effort between four Berrien County schools, five arts educators and classroom teachers, three local arts organizations and six local teaching artists, working together with Berrien RESA to support arts education.
Funding for the program comes from The Berrien Community Foundation, The Frederick S. Upton Foundation and Berrien RESA.