BATS (Bringing Art To Schools) 2011 Art Show
Posted on May 29, 2011
Filed Under South Tahoe Art Scene
For the love of art, BATS (Bringing Art to Schools) is responsible for bringing art classes and an art history program to the 1,800 students in the five Lake Tahoe Unified School District Elementary Schools, K – 5th grade levels in South Lake Tahoe.
The Bringing Art To Schools (BATS) Program recently held their end of year art show in conjunction with the Lake Tahoe Unified Schools open house night in the elementary schools. Students in each class selected art pieces to be displayed and in each school the adult volunteers worked throughout the day to set up grids and attach the art pieces for display.
This is the culmination of many hours of volunteer time with the cooperation of the teacher in each class in providing scheduled time for the instruction. The art program is conducted through a series of 5 portfolios that cover 30 different themes over all the grade levels. These themes reflect a variety of objectives as required by California’s State Standards for Arts Education. Skills covered include artistic perception, creative expression, the historical and cultural context of the arts and the ability to make judgments about art that will develop critical thinking.
Trained volunteers attempt to provide the opportunity to explore a variety of different materials ranging from chalk, crayon, markers, cut paper, printmaking, clay, watercolor and even 3-D sculpture. Guest artists are recruited from the community to provide additional lessons when possible. In addition, through the use of grant money, bus transportation became available to provide field trips to the Haldan Gallery at the Lake Tahoe Community College. Art lessons will continue through the last week of school.
The BATS program, operated through the Tahoe Art League, presents a unique opportunity for elementary students to become more informed about classic works of art, their meanings, and the styles and movements that inspired them.
Every year the BATS program grows stronger and the BATS Cave gets bigger. With the enthusiastic vision of Joy Rogers, BATS Director, this year more than 100 volunteers offered new art projects, supported new community efforts, and doubled the number of Lake Tahoe Community College Haldan Gallery field trips.
The BATS program depends solely on the generosity of local funding and community volunteers. For more information about BATS, please visit www.batsart.org or call Joy Rogers at 530-573-1657.
