Art teachers, Raquel Lucius and Mary Cale Anderegg at Sand Hill Elementary and South Effingham High School are recipients of this year’s Grassroots Arts Program (GAP) funds created by the Georgia General Assembly.

The purpose of the fund is to give communities local decision-making power over the allocation of the state’s arts funding. These small grants are designed to allow funds to reach every county, enabling emerging arts organizations to grow, therefore enhancing the cultural climate in communities and neighborhoods.

Lucius, a first-year teacher at Sand Hill Elementary, is one of eight elementary art teachers implementing the school system’s inaugural art program in grades K-5. She will use the $2,000 grant she’s receiving to hold a large-scale art exhibition at the school on March 27, 2009. Art projects created by each student in grades K-5 will be matted, framed and displayed for parents and the community to view. The students’ works of art will also be available to purchase with all profits going to fund future art projects and purchase art supplies for use in the classroom. The Sand Hill art project is titled “My World.”

“The ‘My World’ exhibition is primarily intended to be an outreach program to encourage community and school involvement, as well as foster an appreciation of art,” explained Lucius. “This exhibition will showcase cultural heritage and encourage self-identity, self-sufficiency and pride in our community.”

Lucius said students will sharpen their art skills while gaining insight into the process of producing an art exhibition.

Anderegg, who is beginning her second year as the art teacher at SEHS, will use the $1,669 grant she’s receiving for a project titled, “Fibers Workshop and Fashion Show.”

“The GAP funding will pay for Savannah fibers artist, Karin Soderholm, to come to SEHS and teach fibers workshops to students who are designing for this year’s fashion show,” explained Anderegg. “Ms. Soderholm will be teaching students embellishment techniques such as painting, dyeing and stamping fabric. As a result, students will create their very own, unique fabric.”

The grant will also supply needed materials such as dyes, paints, tools and fabric for the SEHS workshops. The unique fabric the art students create will then be used as the basis for one of the school’s fashion show categories, where students use their originally designed fabric in at least 50 percent of an original garment they design and construct themselves. In addition, students will participate in three other categories, including a category called “multimedia” where they can use anything except for fabric, an open category, and a category inspired by a famous work of art.

Funding will also go toward the cost of producing the fashion show. This will be the third year that the SEHS Art Department has produced this unique event, and the second time under Anderegg’s instruction.

This program is supported in part by the Grassroots Arts Program of the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly and in partnership with the Statesboro Arts Council.