60 S G M A G A Z I N E | W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8 “The goal of the NEA grant was engagement through capacity building, which spilled over into learning,” said Davis, who served as president of the Georgia Art Education Association from 2009 to 2011. “The primary objective was to introduce middle and high school students, including those who had never been or would probably never come to the Turner Center on their own.” During a five-month period, Davis conducted 21 Art Talks with more than 530 students. Through the Art Talks, students were asked to document their thoughts regarding the artwork and research the artists by visiting their website and reading artist statements. “The major point was to make students aware that viewing an As a teacher and artist, Debi Davis understands the important role art education plays in a child’s full development. Shortly after retiring from the Lowndes County School System, Davis began her second career with the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts. In 2016, she was hired as the center’s first arts education administrator and was tasked with developing art education programs for children and adults. Funded by a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant, Davis has developed a series titled “Art Talks,” which combines in-class instruction with a visit to the Turner Center to help fully engage the students in looking at, thinking about, and discussing art. Starting in the classroom, students review the elements of art—shape, line, color, space, texture, and form— by viewing a reproduction of the artwork they will see on their visit to the Turner Center. “The teachers are asked to prepare their students for the Art Talks experience beforehand,” Davis said. “Each teacher is given a lesson plan and a digital image of a selected painting to introduce to their students.” Students also discuss the difference between viewing an original piece of artwork and the reproduction, as well as interpreting artwork using formal analysis and research. With assistance from a Guardian Bank grant, Debi Davis, arts education administrator with the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, is teaching art education classes at Echols County High School. Art in Education Turner Center for the Arts, Guardian Bank Partner to Help Students Learn, Grow