"What makes this so rewarding for me is that the lives of some of these children could make them eligible for quilts and that several of them will carry their extraordinary interest in quilting throughout their lives... Thank you for this opportunity to share an art that I love with such an enthusiastic group!" ~Sally Syren, Quilting Instructor
The Littleton Studio School recently completed a project aimed towards increasing the number of North Country youth who have access to art instruction. While the original concept for this project was to simply offer subsidized art classes and youth scholarships at the Littleton Studio School itself, the project was transformed with a partnership forged between the school and the Boys & Girls Club of the North Country (BGCNC). With this alliance, the Littleton Studio School was able to offer a wide array of art classes--including ceramics, drawing, watercolor and quilting--at the BGCNC facilities themselves for BGCNC-participating children. The Littleton Studio School also played a significant role at Family Literacy Day in Lakeway Elementary, reaching 125 additional children and distributing bags of clay to each one.
Why?
This project allowed the Littleton Studio School to:
Reach youth in an undeserved community who might otherwise have little access to art instruction
Establish a partnership with the BGCNC which can be built upon in coming years to bring the arts to more North Country children
Engage participating children in charitable work by teaching them to build quilts for recently homeless children
Who?
Project Coordinator: Charles Lovett, Board President of the Littleton Studio School
Artists: Ed Kadunc, Cecily Yarosh, Karen Arbbruscato, Sally Syren, Alison Dodd & Janice Balog
225 kids from Littleton, Lisbon, Franconia, Sugar Hill, Lyman & Bethlehem
How?
This project was made possible through a Youth Arts Project Grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and through in-kind donations of arts supplies and volunteer services.
