FOCUS: Spearman to attend unveiling of school painting project

Staff reports | State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman will join students, parents, community partners, faculty and administrators of Sanders-Clyde Creative Arts School at the school’s Black Box Theatre on Morrison Drive at 5:30 p.m. May 21 for the unveiling of a painting done to inspire students.

The school’s eighth graders picked artist Teil Duncan to be the inaugural painter for Inspirational Pathways, a project aiming to expose students to talented South Carolina artists while awakening creativity and raising art awareness for the next generation of leaders. Duncan, a native of Columbus, Ga., is a full-time painter who describes her works as “mostly figurative and non-objective work.” In addition to paintings and prints, she offers stationery and leather clutches on her website.

According to a press release, the Inspirational Pathways project started with the commitment of South Carolina Liberty Fellow Barbara Melvin and Sanders-Clyde patron, Hydrick Services, to decorate the school’s hallways with beauty and creativity. Hydrick Services’ commitment includes the donation of 10 works of art over 10 years to Sanders-Clyde, a long-term investment that will have generational impact on students, parents and faculty.

During the school year, a team of community partners, including staff from Charleston Promise Neighborhood and Redux Contemporary Arts Center, have worked closely with the arts department at Sanders-Clyde to select four scholars from the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. These students visited the Redux studios; met with and interviewed four artists; familiarized themselves with art description, analysis and interpretation; and ultimately introduced artists to their eight-grade classmates, who voted to select the artist who would paint the program’s inaugural piece of art.

“As a former music teacher, I am a firm believer that the arts are an integral part of every student’s education,” Spearman said in the release. “This initiative at Sanders Clyde is a great way to spotlight the importance of art education and it is my hope we can bring similar programs to schools across South Carolina.”

Charles Atkins, chair of the Arts Department at Sanders-Clyde Creative Arts School, said Inspirational Pathways scholars at the school matured throughout the year. “Their interests in the arts has only become more solidified as they interacted with the talented artists who work with Redux.”

Sherrie Snipes-Williams, CEO of Charleston Promise Neighborhood added, “Partnerships with our schools demonstrated through programs like Inspirational Pathways are exactly what we envisioned when we established our mission. Long term relationships with patrons such as Hydrick Services will move the needle as we boost educational levels and life skills for our students.”