Gabe Lane, third grader from Kelsey Norman Elementary School creates his African mask during his visit to Spiva Center for the Arts.

Jo Mueller, director of Spiva Center for the Arts talks with third graders about the exhibit Out of Africa: A Legacy of Inspiration and Change.

Third-graders (clockwise from top) Gavin Williamson, Devon Cruise and Gabe Lane, all of Kelsey Norman Elementary School, take a walk on the wild side during an outing to the exhibit "Out of Africa, a Legacy of Inspiration and Change".

The third graders in Joplin R-VIII schools will become mask makers during visits to George A. Spiva Center for the Arts during the last two weeks of February.

"Each third grade's visit to Spiva will be an exciting combination of activities involving the exhibit in the Main Gallery, Out of Africa: A Legacy of Inspiration and Change, and creation of their own African-style masks in the center's art studio," said Jo Mueller, Spiva's executive director.

The first of 581 third graders from 12 schools toured Spiva Tuesday and Wednesday, February 15 and 16. The last groups, from Stapleton Elementary, will visit the Center February 25. (See schedule below.)

Tour leaders will guide students through the exhibit and encourage their questions and ideas about African art and companion pieces by European and American artists such as Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Alison Saar and Faith Ringgold.

In the studio, the young artists will create their own African-inspired masks in hands-on sessions led by art center volunteers.

Out of Africa: A Legacy of Inspiration and Change in the Main Gallery and YaYa Painters: Watercolors by Karolyn Cleveland, Jana Dahmen, Sue Drennan and K. D. Lowe, in the Regional Focus Gallery, are open to the public through March 4.

Spiva Center for the Arts is located at Third and Wall in downtown Joplin. The galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Donations are welcome; there is no charge for admission. Out of Africa is sponsored by Pedro and Alice Pantoja. Additional financial assistance for Spiva programs is provided by the Friends of St. Avips, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

For more information, please call 417-623-0183.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org

Jo Mueller, Director