For nearly a decade, the Department of Parks and Recreation has offered arts programming for the community with Recreation Artist-In-Residence, Sophia Geiger. Geiger has taught thousands of children and offered them insight into the world of art that has provided them personal and artistic growth. For the last nine years, Geiger has developed her art classes into a unique blend of visual arts and crafts that engage participants in inventive and exceptional projects.
This winter, Geiger is offering an exciting new program that blends art history with innovative projects that will illuminate those periods being discussed. The Origins of Mankind and Art, runs from Jan. 16 to Feb. 20 and will be a study of art through history, geography and archaeology. Included in her curriculum are in-depth studies of the Lascaux Cave Paintings in France, Australian Aboriginal studies and Egyptian Papyrus Hieroglyphics projects. The program is geared toward children in grades K-3 and will be an hour long. As with all of her classes, this class is offered in the Art Studio on the 3rd Floor of the Church Street Recreation Center.
Geiger is committed to arts education and providing a recreational, artistic outlook for children and adults alike. The arts offer individuals a form of expression as well as an alternative way of learning and comprehending. Individuals who are exposed to the arts, engage in artistic outlets and participate in arts education have been proven to improve comprehension of abstract subject matter, critical thinking skills and scores on the empathy scale. Engaging young people in art and artistic endeavors offers them an alternative means of viewing the world, themselves and their relationships. Studies have shown that the study of and participation in the fine arts can actually improve learning in all academic areas.
Geiger is a graduate of Drexel University with her Bachelor of Science Degree in art and design. She serves as the Visual Arts Trustee on the Board of MoorArts and has taught hundreds of classes through the Department of Parks and Recreation over the last decade. One of Geiger’s most recent large-scale projects occurred during the 2015 Summer Parks Program camp. Each campsite made its own large-scale painting …this was a collaborative effort of all of the students over the course of the 5-week program. The outcome of this effort can be seen on the Third Floor of the Church Street Recreation Department. These 36 inch by 36 inch paintings adorn the walls and offer a window into the world of summer in Moorestown.
Register today at www.moorestown.nj.us/363/Winter-Youth-Programs for the newest offering from the Department of Parks & Recreation arts programs. Offer your children the opportunity to reach back into history and to learn and create unique and interesting projects that illuminate the beginning of arts in humanity.
