JumpstART at The Mississippi Arts Center

Barr Elementary worked with the Mississippi Museum of Art on these collages from recycled materials depicting places in our community for their JumpstART project. JumpstART, a program of the Ask for More Arts Initiative is comprised of 21 JPS elementary schools. Parents for Public Schools- Greater Jackson is the convening partner of the Initiative.

Clausell Elementary created Chinese puppets using recycled milk gallons, brads, and coat hangers. When students from Casey saw these, they wanted to take them down from the wall, give them life, and improvise their own puppet show!

Third grade students from Casey's after-school ballet program with Ballet Mississippi toured the JumpstART exhibit after rehearsal for their upcoming recital at Thalia Mara Hall on Tuesday, May 12, at 6:00 pm. Here, they show off their ballet expertise in front of the art they created in partnership with artists George Miles and Shambé Jones.

This Casey student's writing includes hopes for her own future as well as Jackson's future:

I want to be an architect when I grow up so I can help people rebuild and redesign old buildings. It would help Jackson because Jackson has a lot of old buildings. I want to help make them a better place so people can enjoy them. I hope that other people will rebuild buildings. I want to have some buildings look like art. They will be colorful.

The JumpstART project gave the children of Jackson some colorful days. For some students, the JumpstART project provided their first opportunity to paint or work with an artist. For other students, the project may have helped them learn a core curriculum area at a deeper level or experience an art form in a new way. For some students, the JumpstART project may have opened doors or planted seeds for future careers. The city of Jackson should be proud of what Ask4MoreArts and Parents for Public Schools Greater Jackson has done working together with Jackson Public Schools, the business community, and local artists. As a parent, I have been inspired and reminded of the hope that springs from a community working together towards the common goal of creating rich learning experiences for the children of this city.

If you want to learn more about JumpstART, try these links:

The Jackson Free Press featured an article about JumpstART here.

You can read about the partnership between artist Sarah C. Campbell and Davis Magnet School on her blog here.

You can read articles about Casey's Jumpstart project on this blog under the label "JumpstART 2009."

The JumpstART Exhibit is currently running through May 17, 2009, at The Mississippi Arts Center.