Outreach Programs

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art's ARTreach program provides a variety of outreach opportunities to diverse populations throughout the greater Jones County area.  Some of the many programs that LRMA outreach staff have participated in recent years are listed below.  Museum staff may be contacted to arrange other outreach opportunities in the community.
 
Artists-in-Residence: Each quarter, LRMA presents a Southern artist who conducts a program at the Museum and visits area schools to demonstrate his or her art. Students receive a close-up view of the artistic process and have the opportunity to speak with the artists about their work. Artists featured in this program include: Wyatt Waters of Clinton, multi-media artist Terrell Taylor of Meridian, printmaker Sean Star Wars of Laurel, painter and multi-media artist Charles Crossley of McComb, and painter Moe Brooker of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 
Children's Center for Communication and Development at the University of Southern Mississippi: This children's center focuses on pre-school aged children who have communication and developmental disorders.  Outreach staff visits monthly to do a clay activity with students, and has created two murals on the center's playground.  Students were able to participate in the mural by putting their handprints in the picture as flowers.
 
Day in the Park: LRMA conducts a community-wide art activity each year at Day in the Park.  With the help of volunteers, the LRMA education staff offers festival-goers the opportunity to participate in art projects, a popular activity for area children.
 
Ellisville State School: The Special Education School at Ellisville State School is attended by high school and junior high students with a range of developmental disabilities. Outreach staff visits monthly to do a variety of art projects, including giant painted butterflies, printmaking, and clay projects.
 
Free Family Art Days: Each week during June, LRMA provides the opportunity for families to participate in make-and-take art activities at LRMA under the direction of a guest artist. Homes all over Jones County now display artwork created at this popular activity, which serves 75-100 children per week.
 
Magnolia Place for Seniors: This day-care facility for adults suffering from dementia is another beneficiary of education outreach.  Outreach staff visits the center monthly and involves the ladies and gentlemen in hands-on activities that lift their spirits and provide a pleasant morning.
 
Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources: Outreach staff participate in several programs at PBMHR. Monthly art activities are held at a work center for adults with developmental disabilities as well as a group home for women suffering from mental illness.
 
Townley Center Enrichment:To reach those members of the community who have not received arts instruction and enrichment in the past, LRMA education staff and volunteers conduct art activities at the Townley Center, situated in a federally funded housing development in Laurel. LRMA maintains and ongoing relationship with these students, who experience the joy of creating prints, watercolor paintings, and drawings in after-school activities.
 
Whole Schools Initiative: LRMA is actively involved in assisting the local school district with implementation of the Mississippi Arts Commission's Whole School Initiative, which infuses the arts in all school classes.  LRMA has conducted teacher workshops and provides art activities and artists-in-residence for this program.

The LRMA Education Outreach program is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

For more information about the LRMA Outreach Education program contact Angie King, Outreach Education Coordinator at 601.649.6374 or aking@LRMA.org.