The Heartbeat of Georgia is partnering with Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) and the Macon Arts Alliance for its Heart and Soul Workshop this month for students on school break. The mini-camp will be held Monday, February 20 through Wednesday, February 22 at the Mill Hill Community Art Center (213 Clinton Street). The camp will feature a photography project. Click here to register.
The Heart and Soul Workshop is an alternate school break program providing mentorship for children ages 6 through 12 with interactive projects that teach them how to be a citizen-artist by master teaching artists. The program is free to Bibb County School District (BCSD) students. It costs $12 a day for those who are not BCSD students.
Dropoff is 8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. and pickup is 5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. During their stay, students will take art and photography lessons, hear from guest speakers who are successful artists and creative entrepreneurs, play games, play outside, and work on art and photography projects. The goal is to provide a safe, creative, and encouraging space for students to be while school is out.
“We believe mentoring students in arts for civic impact teaches them that you have a bigger voice by picking up a paintbrush or a guitar than a gun,” said Project Manager Julia Morrison. “All our teaching artists are experts in their field and identify as teachers and fathers, providing direct success stories for our students to emulate.”
This month’s camp currently has about 30 spots available. If you miss this opportunity, there will be other camps throughout the year. The next one is during Spring Break, March 20 – 24, 2023. The Spring Break camp will feature a multidisciplinary arts installation using recycled objects with a community partner.
In previous camps, students have created a positive mural on a block of Main Street on a retaining wall that encompasses two blighted properties and cleared the block of trash and debris – this is a traffic calming measure and allows for better pedestrian access. Students “upcycled” 16 pairs of used shoes, learning about sneaker art and shoe restoration techniques, and donated them to Brookdale Resource Center.