For Kids
West Plains Arts Academy was formed in the summer of 2016 by Debbie Gerber, Nancy Gasper and Heather Hubbard: a group of concerned citizens and parents who felt there was an unmet demand for quality arts programs in their community. “It is difficult for many families to get kids to programs in Spokane, and so they miss out on the opportunity to experience the arts until they get to junior high or high school – if at all,” they wrote. Their mission is to provide opportunities within the community to explore the arts in a safe, creative, uplifting and nurturing environment.
West Plains Arts Academy employs four professional artists who have a mission to educate and provide hands-on artistic learning opportunities to young children and their families. Their newest artistic class will be focused on learning about masters through a series of classes. Each class will focus on a particular artist and students will have the opportunity to get to know a little about the artist and his works of art. Students will then have the opportunity to create their own work of art in the style of that artist. These new classes will be taught by local artist Loredana Murphy, a Spokane area resident.
WITH SAGA SUPPORT
SAGA funding covered start-up costs for local art classes geared at introducing children to famous artists/art. These costs included paints, canvases, tarps and easels. This grant also helped West Plains Arts Academy spread the word about their offerings and their mission.