Visual artist

Glen Davies at Eastland Community Unit School District in Lanark

Lanark is a small, rural community in eastern Carroll County, approximately 25 miles from Freeport to the north and Sterling to the south. Eastland Community Unit School District struggles to provide arts programs for students as the limited cultural events in that community occur in Freeport and Sterling. In September 2002, students at Eastland High School worked with visual artist Glen Davies to create an 8-foot by 12-foot mural to be placed in the school cafeteria. Glen was selected because of his experience working with rural communities and his expertise with introducing students to mural painting. All high school students were surveyed for input as to the topics that would be presented on the mural. Based on the survey results, the students involved with creating the mural chose the theme of puzzle pieces. They selected this theme because they could use each puzzle piece to depict images of the communities that make up the Eastland School District. At the conclusion of the project, community members were invited to view the results.

storyteller

Reanae McNeal at Northview School in Rantoul

Northview elementary school is recognized as a "high poverty, high performance school" and has always encouraged student exposure to the arts through working with professional artists, taking students to performances at the Krannert Center in Urbana, and securing donations for the arts from community businesses. One of Northview's School Improvement Goals is to create a peaceful learning environment through its PeaceBuilders program. Reanae McNeal's storytelling residency with Northview fourth-graders was designed to support this goal by helping students to develop a positive self-image and to celebrate cultural diversity. During the residency, students prepared for a performance of "How the Bumblebee Learned to Fly," an African folktale. A teacher involved with the project stated that Reanae made a real difference to all involved with the project and made a special impact on the student who was the lead in the show. This student came from a home where he lived with 15 other people and sang a song during the performance about believing you can reach your dreams no matter what the obstacles.