One of the pieces on loan from the African Museum of Art (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Malian mud cloth painting made by Sharon Correnty’s students
Luka Packard works on a Malian mud cloth painting.
The sounds of the balafon, konkoni, djeli, and 470 children clapping to West African drums echoed through the Hildreth Elementary School gymnasium last Thursday. Crocodile River Music, a band specializing in Malian music, performed for the students as a capstone to a seven-week-long study of African art.
Art teacher Sharon Correnty met Zach Combs, member of Crocodile River Music and director of The Gallery of African Art, at an African drumming workshop over the summer. The Gallery of African Art offers a residency program for schools that includes a day of hands-on drumming experience, an all-school assembly with Crocodile River Musician and an installation of pieces from the museum. Combs told Correnty that “a residency would foster an appreciation for African art and music while promoting a better understanding of African culture.”
“I realized that it was something I wanted to bring to the school as soon as I came on board here,” said Correnty, who transferred to the elementary school from the high school last September for a year-long exchange. A $1,000 grant from the Parent-Teacher Organization allowed Correnty to house 15 artifacts and antiques from the Gallery of African Art for the last month and a half.
“We curated the exhibit together,” said Combs. “She picked out items that she thought would be good for students to handle or draw, and I showed her ones I thought were significant.”
“These were a backdrop for our project inspiration,” said Correnty, gesturing to a carved crocodile and leopard. Wanting to avoid the “typical African mask” art project, Correnty had the students draw the artifacts and make Malian mud cloth paintings and textured collages with muted colors and repeating patterns. The students also made mancala boards from egg cartons and learned how to play the oldest board game in the world on their own hand-made board. The older students discussed the significance of distortion and exaggerated features in the artifacts, while the younger students had props to refer to when they read and illustrated African folk tales.
Fostering sophisticated discussion
“My goal is to have students talk about art in sophisticated language,” says Correnty, “to engage art students so when they talk about art they use the proper vocabulary: line, shape, color, texture, form, and space, and that they understand what they are saying at a very young age.”
Combs said that working with and performing for the Hildreth elementary students was “extremely high energy.” He went on to say, “The students were super open to trying everything, and there was an unbelievable level of engagement.”
Combs and Master Drummer Issa Coulibaly worked with about 150 students throughout the day, offering hands-on instruction in African drumming. The all-school assembly featured five members of Crocodile River Music and ended the art unit on a high note. Correnty is looking forward to teaching an upcoming unit on cubism, which she sees as a nice blend of this African art unit with her fall unit on impressionism.
The Gallery of African Art is located at 62 High Street in Clinton. Hours and directions can be found at www.galleryofafricanart.org. Events featuring Crocodile River Music can be found at www.crocodilerivermusic.com.
Students at Hildreth Elementary School dance to the music of Crocodile River Music at an assembly March 20. (Photo by Verity Sayles)
