Lack of after school activities for local children has been a much-discussed problem for many years in DeKalb County.
The DeKalb County United Way, along with county government, the Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour, and the Appalachian Center for Crafts have announced a plan to help alleviate the problem, and perhaps uncover some budding young talent along the way.
The program will be called Art Revolution.
According to local United Way Director Melissa Wallace, “Jessica Atnip came to me with an idea to start an after school art program for kids. This is something that has sort of been floating in the air for a long time, and a lot of people have been talking about after-school programs.”
After Wallace and Atnip had formulated a plan, they set about enlisting help.
“We wanted it to be about real art and real artists, not just about coming in and doing a project and going home with the thing you have created, but without the ability to make another,” Wallace said. “We want to have real artists teach the kids  techniques to open up their own creativity, and the confidence, the self-assurance, and all the things that come with tapping in to your creativity.”
“We want the kids to learn the skills,” said Atnip. “We want them to be able to take something positive away with them.”
“We have wonderful art and music teachers in the school system,” Wallace said, “but the after school program would relieve the pressure of time constraints and grading and allow more room for creativity.”
“We want to work with the school system and the whole community,” Atnip said. “The program will benefit everyone involved. The artists of Off the Beaten Path the craft center will get more exposure in the community, DeKalb County could become known more for its artists, and in turn the kids will reap the greatest benefits.”
Some of the possibilities being discussed for the Art Revolution program are classes in drawing, painting, stained glass, culinary classes, creative writing, acting and stagecraft, jewelry, pottery, and paper making.
“We are looking at tapping in to a wide variety of things,” Wallace said.
“Many local artists are very excited about it,” added Atnip.
“We are glad to be working with Off the Beaten Path and the Stella Luna Gallery,” Wallace continued. “It will be exciting to get those real artists in there with the kids.
“We plan to have seven-to-nine week courses,” Wallace continued, “ We will roughly run with the school schedule. There will be a small materials fee for the students, but we are also hoping to be able to offer scholarships.”
Art Revolution will be working with Dekalb County government as well, and is expected to secure space in the new county community center at the old Town and Country Shopping Center location.
“I think it’s going to be a really good thing for the community,” said County Mayor Mike Foster, “It will be something productive for a lot of kids to be involved in, and it will put the new building to good use.”
“We are excited to be working with  Mayor Foster and to be a part of the new facility,” Wallace said. “We feel that the new center is a great step for the county.
“We don’t expect every kid who goes through the program to make art a career,” Wallace concluded, “What we want is for the kids to realize that it is within the realm of possibility if that is what they want to do.”