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Many
volunteer opportunities await
at Hudgen Center for the Arts
By Johnnie Rowe
Chairman, Gwinnett Arts Center
Special to GwinnettForum.com
MARCH 19, 2002 -- The president of our country is
stressing the importance of volunteerism as a way of making our
communities better places in which to live. I recommend the Children's
Art Museum at the Hudgens Center for the Arts as a worthy candidate
for community volunteering.
My interest in the arts and volunteer work goes back to my early
childhood. Volunteering began in earnest when I was 15. I discovered
the ideal combination of these two passions when the 20,000 square
foot Children's Arts Museum was added to the Hudgens Center for
the Arts.
The Children's Arts Museum's goal is to inspire, educate and enrich
the artistic experience of children and their families. The exhibits
are chosen by consulting with art educators, and in conjunction
with the curriculums in the schools, to provide visual, performing
and hands-on art experiences.
Museum educators engage the visitors in discussions about the art
work displayed on the walls of the Children's Gallery. The art work
sets the theme for the performances in the Black Box Theatre. The
hands-on project each child completes is the classroom experience.
We know we have achieved success with this program when a third
grade student, who has come by bus with 300 classmates from Walton
County, gives you a hug and says, "I love this place!"
You also experience that feeling of success when you witness how
thrilled a student is when their art work has been juried and chosen
to be exhibited in the Promenade Gallery of the Children's Arts
Museum.
I often ask how some of the students, whose work has been chosen,
can know about color and composition at such an early age. The Museum
director, Nancy Gullickson, answers: "At that age it has to
be in the genes!" Nancy also says "We are educating the
next generation of patrons of the arts."
The opportunity for parents and children to experience the creative
process together in the Pottery Studio of the Children's Art Museum
is especially rewarding. The ten pottery wheels in the studio are
specially designed for a child's use. Parent and child will treasure
forever their productions in clay.
Besides viewing the performances in the Black Box Theatre, students
can try out and perform in the video productions created by members
of the Art Bugs Club, which may be shown on selected TV stations
in the Atlanta area.
The Saturday programs are often sponsored by major corporations
who are resident in the community and offer a variety of activities
for family participation.
Many other volunteer opportunities exist at the Hudgens Center
for the Arts. There are two wonderful gift shops----the Bus Stop,
for children's gifts, and the Glass Pyramid, which features one-of-a-kind
gifts made by regional artists. There is the Wednesday CafÈ,
which presents seasonal luncheon/art demonstrations. Also, there
are various marketing and fund raising special events which require
volunteers periodically.
I encourage anyone with the volunteer spirit who is interested
in educating children in the Arts to explore the volunteer opportunities
at the Children's Arts Museum and the Hudgens Center for the Arts.
They are wonderful assets in our community!
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Number
1.91, March 19, 2002
