For two weeks about 30 middles school students from Florence County School District Three schools have immersed themselves in the arts at Lake City High School for the district’s Fine Arts Summer Day Camp.
Jennifer Maples, a visual arts teacher for the district, said the goal of the camp was to provide “an enriched arts opportunity” for area students during the summer. Maples put together the camp for 30 sixth through eighth grade students after finding out about a last-minute grant opportunity through the Lake City Community Foundation and said the camp also offered sessions for summer school attendees.
“So we’re servicing a lot more than our 30,” said Maples. “Through the course of the day we see a majority of the students; between 60 and 70,” she said.
Culminating in “A Showcase of Talent,” held at the school Friday, the students explored the visual arts, music and dance and collaborated on a 36-piece mural depicting their desires for the “Lake City of the Future.”
“It was very exciting having that conversation with them about things that they’d like to see in Lake City,” said Maples. The camp participants came up for the mural’s concept and discussed not only what to include in the piece but also the impact of having things such as a Boys and Girls Club or movie theater in Lake City.
“That’s what I like about art; it opens that dialogue to talk about things that you don’t necessarily know how to talk about until you start looking at it from a different perspective,” she said.
That type of discussion is part of what Maples hoped the students would get out of the camp and the finished mural was presented to the Lake City Community Foundation’s Carla Angus.s
“I think it’s absolutely marvelous to see Lake City through the youths’ eyes and to see how they see it’s future,” said Angus. Angus said research shows art education contributes to academic achievement.
“Even within this artwork itself, they had to put pieces together to make it a whole; which requires them to think,” she said. “I think this is just a symbol of what art does for our community.”
Maples said that the arts are called the humanities for a reason.
“It’s a way for children to learn to not only express themselves but also appreciate other cultures and appreciate other people for their differences because in art you don’t necessarily have to like something, but you can appreciate the value in it,” said Maples.
“Our goal in our district is to move the arts forward and we’ve come a long way,” said Maples. “If you look at the districts around us, a lot of our districts have totally cuts their arts program,” she said.
“At a time when people are making those hard decisions and are choosing to cut the arts as an easy way to cut the budget, our district has continued to support us,” she said.
In addition to the mural and visual arts, students in the camp were able to explore a secondary art such as music or dance.
Johnice Williams said the camp helped her son, Christopher Williams, come out of his shell. “He can do anything he puts his mind too,” said Johnice Williams, “he loved music and now he has art to appreciate,” she said.
Reed Coleman, a student exploring dance at the camp, said has enjoyed the camp.
“It’s helped me explore some of the things I’ve always wanted to do like art and dance” he said. “Have a chance to do something during the summer.”
Maples said that many of the students had never had dance before and that overall the camp has been a success.
“We’ve had a lot of fun; the kids have had a lot of fun with it,” she said.
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