Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School is shown above. BHL fine arts department teacher Samantha George was given resources and references from over a dozen local artists as inspiration for her students’ pieces for the biennial Clarke County School District Art Exhibition, available from Oct. 8 to Jan. 18, 2025. “It is a unique opportunity for our students to have their work displayed in the highly-regarded galleries of the Lyndon House (Arts Center), alongside work by well-known professional artists in our community,” George said. Photo from the ODYSSEY archives
A new art exhibition at the Lyndon House Arts Center opened on Oct. 8, featuring art from several students at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School.
Students at Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School currently have their artistic pieces featured in the Lyndon House Arts Center in a limited-time exhibition of Clarke County School District students.
The biennial CCSD Student Art Exhibition, showcasing student work inspired by local Athens artists, opened on Oct. 8, and will close on Jan. 18, 2025. BHL fine arts department teacher Samantha George, who grew up taking summer art classes at the Lyndon House, has several students featured in the exhibit.
“The students whose work is selected for display are certainly proud of their achievements and appreciate the recognition they receive from family, teachers and community members,” George said.
This year’s exhibition is dedicated to Leonard Piha, an artist and former CCSD art teacher. Dan Smith, Fine Arts Curriculum Coordinator for CCSD, who helped coordinate this exhibition, believes this partnership of local artists and schools represents how a community can grow its local art scene.
“The students whose work is selected for display are certainly proud of their achievements and appreciate the recognition they receive from family, teachers and community members,”
— Samantha George,
BHL fine arts department teacher
“We are fortunate to be situated in Athens, where the arts and music thrive as an integral part of our community,” Smith stated in a release from the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government. “The achievement of this exhibition, accompanying (brochure) and the arts educational opportunities that CCSD offers to our students owe much to the unyielding support of our community.”
While Smith helped coordinate the exhibit, Whitehead Road Elementary fine arts department teacher Jenniffer Jones and Clarke Central High School fine arts department teacher Laura Lee D’Huyvetter presented it to Smith as an idea. Jones and D’Huyvetter interviewed local artists which were compiled into curriculum resources to help inspire students to create.
Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School seventh grader Andre’ Colin-Parra’s art piece is exhibited at the Lyndon House Arts Center on Oct. 15. Clarke Central High School fine arts department teacher Laura Lee D’Huyvetter worked alongside the Athens Area Arts Council to make the exhibit possible. “We can have the artist have their work on display in the exhibit along with the students. it was neat, it was a good project to work on for a long time,” D’Huyvetter said. “We had a vision, and it was really neat to see it come together.” Photo courtesy of Samantha George
“This is my 24th year in the district, and every time we have one of those exhibitions in the Lyndon House, it makes (the students) feel more special and more recognized as artists because they get to see their work in a real gallery frame,” D’Huyvetter said. “It’s presented as special and important, and that allows the students to feel seen, and (that) their ideas and work (are) valued.”
The Athens Area Art Council and Smith worked alongside the staff at the Lyndon House to collect artwork and information from every CCSD school for the exhibition. George is going into her 20th year as a middle school art teacher and she believes in celebrating student work alongside well-known professionals.
“I think it is very important to highlight students’ artistic talent and accomplishments, as these gifts and efforts are just as praiseworthy as any academic or athletic endeavors,” George said.
