The fine arts bridge gap between schools and community

Published 6:30 am Wednesday, November 22, 2017

By Staff Reports

The Athens City Schools Fine Arts Department will present their second annual One Athens Showcase — a visual and musical feast for the eyes and ears — from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at the Athens Middle School campus.

Presented by ACS K-12, the free showcase is open to the public and includes samples of student paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures along with band and chorale performances from every school. This year, planners have added a fun twist to the night’s events, asking each ACS school to create a large-scale nutcracker to be displayed in the hallways of the school.

Tavia Slayton, an art teacher at Athens High School, said they got the idea for nutcrackers from local scarecrow trails and encourage local businesses and PTO organizations to submit their own nutcracker creations as a way to advertise their services. Questions regarding submissions can be directed to Leah Pierce at leah.pierce@acs-k12.org.

“One Athens is a mindset. It is the overriding, all-encompassing, collaborative spirit that knits our schools and community together through initiatives that are both instructional and conceptual,” Ginger Hickman, communications assistant and strategic planner for ACS, said. “It seeks to create an identity that is clearly focused on partnerships and working in harmony toward mutually beneficial goals for students, teachers and community.”

Slayton explained that the Showcase gives the ACS fine arts department a chance to fulfill One Athens’ goal by reaching out to the community through the arts and music.

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“It’s our night to shine,” she explained. “The showcase is just one of the many ways we are bringing schools and communities together.”

Last year’s event drew 2,000 people in a mix of students, families, teachers and curious community members. Slayton hopes at least that many will attend this year’s event, which includes a silent auction. Proceeds from the auction will be shared among the school’s fine arts departments.

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