ArtsAlive seeks to enrich children, staying in tune with the curriculum

KENT - The ArtsAlive program came into being much the same way as the art it represents: through passion and devotion.

It was also helped along by a fateful meeting.

In 2003, during his first year as Kent Center School principal, Ron Viafore was seeking a way to start an arts and enrichment program at the school.

Former Selectman Nancy O'Dea Wyrick, who was then a member of the Board of Education, just happened to know someone who was passionate about the arts and willing to help:Julia Samartini.

Samartini, who is now chairman of ArtsAlive, found that she and Viafore were kindred spirits, with a shared passion for student enrichment.

"Ron and I were on the same page from the get-go about the need for quality art programs for children, Samartini said. "We both felt passionately about the effect enriching experiences can have on children. They teach about other cultures, different worlds and they bring tolerance to difference."

From this early meeting, the Arts-Alive Committee was born, consisting of teachers and members of the community.

"We were very happy to have the teachers involved, so they were able to have a role in how the program was put together," Samartini explained. "We felt it was important that our programs dovetail with the school curriculum. We wanted to emphasize that what we were doing was about education and not entertainment. There needed to be a connection between the art and the childrens studies in the classroom."

In the ArtAlive's inaugural program, artist Robert Lenz taught eighth-graders about plein air painting (painting that is done outdoors in natural light).

Lenz was hands-on in his approach, talking the students through each part of the process. Al Coffill, who is the art teacher at Kent Center School and a board member of ArtsAlive, was able to synchronize his classwork with Lenz's instruction by assigning the eighth-graders an outdoor photography project.

The students photographed outdoor scenes and then used them as models to paint from, under Lenz's guidance.

"It was a program that started with the artist's experience and became about the student's experience," Samartini said. "It was very positive and it gave the kids a sense of accomplishment, something they could feel really good about it."

Lenz later donated the painting he did during the instructional phase to the school.

Another project conducted by ArtsAlive was the schoolwide mask project. Students made masks representing the cultures they were studying in class.

This project culminated in an end-of-year parade through town, with the children wearing the masks they had produced.

One project encouraged several grades to learn to play the recorder, a woodwind instrument. They got to show off what they had learned by playing at Carnegie Hall, with full choir and orchestra accompaniment.

Community funding is a necessary part of ArtsAlive.

"So far we have done two fundraisers in addition to receiving some anonymous funding support from the community," Samartini said. "We have also received money from the state through various applications and we are working on doing our own grant writing to help support our programs.

"Our biggest cost is for buses, it is getting prohibitive at this point. The travel issue is looming as a serious consideration for us."

To learn more about ArtsAlive, or to contribute, contact Samartini at 860-927-0016 or by mail at PO Box 219 Kent, CT 06757. Checks can be made out to ArtsAlive@KCS.