The Guilford Fund for Education and the Guilford Foundation awarded a grant of $2,450 in March 2013 to Guilford Art Center and Guilford Before and After School Care for a joint project to provide art instruction to After School Care students onsite at A.W. Cox, Calvin Leete, and Guilford Lakes schools in Guilford.

“Art of the Masters” will be a 4-week program, in which students from first through fifth grade will be introduced to the work of master artists, such as Van Gogh, O’Keefe, or Picasso, and then will create hands-on projects inspired by these works. The project will culminate with a judged student art celebration in May, at which time all After School Care students’ works will be framed and displayed.

Through this joint project, the agencies’ goal is to encourage self expression, nurture creativity, and foster self confidence and critical thinking in children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to enroll in after-school arts programming. The art celebration will be an opportunity for the students to present their art works in a professional gallery environment, sharing it with peers, parents, and community families.

“We are thrilled to be able to collaborate on this program, and honored to receive this grant,” says Guilford Art Center Executive Director Maureen Belden. “Our instructors are eager to be out in the community with their ideas and energy, and Rose Ann Kelley and After School Care do a great job promoting the importance and fun of making art.”