March 2, 2010
East Arkansas Community College-Forrest City
Press Release-Photo Attached

Fourth and fifth grade students from the Forrest City School District Gifted and Talented program recently participated in Dixon Gallery’s Art to Grow class hosted by the East Arkansas Community College Department of Continuing Education.
The class studied facts about the country of Brazil including its language, geography, the effort to protect the Amazon rain forest, and Brazilian art. The students viewed photographs from the festive Brazilian ‘Carnaval’ and discussed the wearing of masks, and what masks represent.

The class had the opportunity to design their own ‘Carnaval’ masks, and embellished them with paint and other accessories. They also experienced examples of Brazilian ‘Samba’ music.

The Art to Grow program reaches out to over 18,000 Mid-South children during the summer and school year.