Cultural Arts Council ARTSventure Gives YMS Students a Multicultural Experience
Posted on 02/03/2023
On the afternoon of Friday, January 13, The Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/ Douglas County (CAC) presented its first ARTSventure for 2023 at Yeager Middle School. Celebrating a brand-new year, as well as a long weekend ahead in honor of Martin Luther King Junior, Yeager Middle welcomed the great arts-educator, Jerry G. White. Using inspirations of theater, world culture, percussion, singing, dancing, spoken word, and literacy, White reached Yeager Middle School with an energy that was full steam ahead.
White presented “Oceans of Rhythm,” the musical jamboree taking students through an imaginative trip across the seas to various continents, learning the cultural and geographical influences for each location. From the Arctic-North America to Europe and Africa, Indian-Asia to Pacific-Australia, Antarctica and more, White provided the essence of a cruise for the students, traveling around the world without even leaving school. A majority of the hundreds of students took advantage of opportunities to play instruments, learn dances, answer trivia questions, and check their knowledge of the maps and clues about which location they’d learn about next.
Brittany Gilbert, Arts Coordinator for the CAC reflected on the excitement of the middle-schoolers, “Today really showed how art has the power to encourage our youth to let down their inhibitions. I remind the students that sponsors have made it possible for us to bring these shows to them as a gift—people care about them there at their school, even if they don’t know it—so let loose and have fun!” This is where the magic of learning happens and, sure enough, students chose participation and togetherness over self-consciousness and judgments. As we learn about various continents and their differences, we can’t help but step back and see the world of continents from a global view—they’re all connected—and so are we. 
If you are interested in sponsoring the ARTSventure program, or one of the many programs provided by the CAC, reach out to us at the center. On January 30th, we may have reached the student body of one school, but tomorrow those students may reach all corners of the world! Like Jerry G. White taught us with “Oceans of Rhythm”, the other side of the world isn’t as far away as it might seem. This program is partially funded by a grant through Georgia Council for the Arts and GreyStone Power Foundation. The CAC mission is enacted in the ARTSventure program: to nurture and guide and stimulate the enjoyment of and participation in the arts among Douglas County residents and visitors and beyond. Check out Artsdouglas.org for recent news and opportunities.