EDUCATION
Community Programs Continue to Grow
The Columbia Museum of Art provides
many excellent and accessible opportunities
for art education in South Carolina by
taking community art education programs
into the city, county and state to provide
greater exposure to art for those who might
not otherwise have the opportunity. An
example of this is our five-year partnership
with St. Lawrence Place, a 30-home
community that provides transitional
housing and programming — for up
to two years — for qualifying families.
St. Lawrence Place offers families the
structure, training and support that can
help them overcome homelessness.
As part of our mission to bring art to
the community, the CMA community
programs staff conducts weekly art sessions
for children in kindergarten through 12th
grade as part of St. Lawrence Place’s afterschool program. Plus, the children come
to the Museum for tours of the collection
and temporary exhibitions. This year the
children have had the opportunity to see
Mark Rothko: The Decisive Decade and
Impressionism from Monet to Matisse.
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columbiamuseum.org
Teens living in a St. Lawrence Place home
can access much more than a steady,
safe place to live. They also participate
in counseling and weekly Tackling the
Tough Skills classes that provide life-skill
development and help them grow into
responsible, caring adults and community
members.
In January 2013, the St. Lawrence Place
teens began a First Thursday program at
the Museum that includes a variety of
experiences such as tours of the galleries,
art talks, and films. Each session concludes
with an art studio session taught by a local
artist where the teens are exposed to many
different types of materials and processes.
To date the teens have learned the art
of printmaking, comics, mosaics and
painting, with ceramics and metalworking
to come.
This after-school program provides
meaningful activities to fill those crucial
hours when teens are often left on their
own while parents are at work. It is
through this type of partnership that we
can see the excitement and passion that
only participation in the arts can generate.
“I love coming here and learning about art,
but making art is the best. I’m pretty good
at it!” – St. Lawrence Place teen
“There’s no way to put a value on the
experiences our St. Lawrence Place
teenagers have had through our partnership
with the Columbia Museum of Art.
They’re getting to see, touch and be a
part of programs they would have never
had the opportunity to be a part of.
They’ve had their eyes and minds opened
to goals and dreams they can now reach
for!” – Lila Anna H. Sauls, president and
chief executive officer, Trinity Housing
Corporation & St. Lawrence Place
To learn more about our partnership with
St. Lawrence Place and the CMA’s other
community programs, contact Molly Wise
Drews at 803.343.2186.
Grant supporters include the Lipscomb
Family Foundation, The Nord Family
Foundation, Bi-Lo Charities, and the
National Endowment for the Arts. n