UMaine Community ArtWorks Program Sign-up Ready
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3756
ORONO — The University of Maine’s ArtWorks after school art program, providing community children a chance to explore art above and beyond their home or school exposure, is accepting applications through Sept. 29 for the fall session.
Attendance is limited and acceptance is based on a first come, first served basis.
ArtWorks is a creative opportunity for the university’s art education majors to share their art expertise with children from kindergarten through sixth grade and also gain essential practical teaching experience, says art Prof. Constant Albertson, who directs the program.
It also allows children an opportunity to explore different art media, including paints, pencils, pastels, clay, wire or paper mache.
The university has offered the program for about 20 years, with increasing interest from the community.
Students teaching the classes under Albertson’s supervision in most cases are artists studying to become state-certified art teachers.
“If you didn’t have this practical piece, learning how to write curriculum would not be as powerful a learning experience,” Albertson says of the ArtWorks program. “When you have real people looking back at you, it becomes more important to you to get it right.”
ArtWorks classes group children by age or grade levels and meet at Carnegie Hall and at one other classroom on the UMaine campus.
The fall session runs Oct. 15 through Nov. 12, meeting Friday afternoons from 3:30-5 p.m. Sessions also are held in the second semester, usually in late February. A $25 course fee covers the costs of materials. A limited number of scholarships are available.
Applications may be requested from and submitted to ArtWorks, Department of Art, 5712 Carnegie Hall, University of Maine, Orono, 04469-5712.
Parents or guardians should indicate on their application form if children require special classroom access provisions. For safety, student instructors will release children from the classroom only upon the arrival of a pre-designated adult.
More information is available by calling Albertson at 581-3251 or the UMaine Department of Art, 581-3245.