Art Brings Community Conversation (AB2C)
“At Logos Academy we believe that an education consists of more than mastering specialized skills, but joining in the timeless pursuit of truth and beauty through all subjects.”
The above quote effectively summarize our Classical learning environment at Logos Academy. Our staff strives to cultivate and develop abilities that empower students to seek the interconnectedness of subjects and learn how each discipline plays a part in revealing truth and beauty to humankind. Art Brings Community Conversation,(AB2C) is a project birthed out of this ethos.
Five years ago, Bambi and George Long, Logos community partners expressed their desire to engage Logos students with art. Since the arts are an intricate part of Logos Academy’s classical curriculum, this idea was embraced as it would augment student learning and enhance the student experience. Logos paired Mrs. Long with the sixth grade class and they began their journey to find unexplored gems in the York art community. Over the course of four years field trips have encompassed an array of visual art experiences including, galleries, public art tours, lectures, film, and more. Trips have included visits to the Grumbacher private gallery, a viewing of a film on outsider art, an exhibit of Perspectives on Peace at York College, a guided tour by Brenda Vizzi of York Wall Coverings, and a private visit and presentation with internationally known artist Wayne White at Marketview.
During the spring of 2016, while on one of these field trips a student made a striking comment and request. The student (who was African American) expressed her gratitude and appreciation for the varied art experiences made possible to her over. She appreciated the interest the Longs had shown in introducing her and her classmates to an art community in York that they previously had not seen. She and others then went on to explain that they are also part of communities with great artistic and cultural attributes which were meaningful to them and that they would like to share with the broader community. This was a powerful conversation and was a key moment.
Art Brings Community Conversation will connect Logos Academy students with ethnically diverse York artists to create a body of visual art that reflect the students, their communities and their hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future. The artist who share students culture and ethnicity will provide several workshops that will culminate in the creation of a body of work to be exhibited in two venues. One venue will be familiar to the York art scene while the other will represent a place that is more familiar to diverse people groups. The opening of the show at each venue will commence with a reception. A key element of the project will involve an art piece developed by renown furniture designer Peter Danko. The table concept was developed by the students and their teacher. The table is a symbolic representation of an invitation by the inter-cultural Logos community to others in the York community with a focus on breaking barriers by figuratively breaking bread and communing at the same table.
Other artist involved in the initiative are Rosa Luz Caterall, Ophelia Chambliss, Brenda Wintermyer, Shelby Elaine Wormley, and Richard Craighead.
Come See the Art!
The Well Counseling Center – November 7 from 5:00-7:00pm – 102 E Cottage Place, York PA 17401
Creative York – November 30, 5:00-7:00pm – 10 N Beaver Street, York PA 17401
Joanne Shannon
Advancement Officer
Picture: Student art by Montika Smith