Pike County Arts Center looks to bolster arts education/programming in the county
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By DAVID CAMPHOUSE
Submitted photo
Upwards of 60 residents attended the grand opening of the Pike County Community Arts Center on Saturday. Left to right are: Lauren Perez, Joyce Harrison, Rylee Martin, Pike County Chamber of Commerce Director David Camphouse, Durrell Miller, Sally Humphrey, Elizabeth Rudd, Syndy Miller, Beau Miller, Chippy Rudd, Pittsfield Mayor Gary Mendenhall, Rylee Howard, Pike County Chamber Treasurer Kaye Iftner, and Picture Pittsfield/PCEDC Intern Delilah Sanders.
The Pike County Arts Center held a ribbon cutting and open house this past Saturday. According to founder Syndy Miller, upwards of 60 people showed up to welcome the new arts facility to the community.
Miller said the mission of the Pike County Arts Center is to expose more Pike County residents to art and to make artistic expression and education more available for residents.
“Our mission is to make art accessible to the community,” Miller said.
Miller said that her motivation for creating the Pike County Arts Center is rooted in her desire to make sure Pike County students have an opportunity to receive arts education.
“Art education is really important for child development,” Miller said. “You have to allow the creative brain to express itself.”
Miller said that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the creative outlets available to students in school.
“When COVID hit, art and PE were even more stripped away than they had been,” Miller said.”What little was available was gone.”
Miller hastened to add that the art center is looking to produce programming and classes that appeal to artists of every stripe.
“Everybody is an artist,” Miller said. “It can be cooking and culinary arts. It can be music and performing arts. It can be acting and performing on stage.”
The Community Arts Center is providing after-school classes to middle school students during the current semester. In addition, the center is going to offer a daytime art class for home-schooled kids.
Classes are being offered to middle school students on Wednesdays and Thursdays. There is currently a waiting list for new students, because Miller wishes to maintain a 3:1 student to teacher ratio in the classes for younger students.
Upcoming classes include a no cost book making class September 27. Three seats remain.
In addition, acrylic pour and knitting/crochet classes are available at a cost through the Pike County Art Guild.
The Pike County Arts Center may be reached at (217) 725-1855 or [email protected].
