Turner Center for the Arts instructor Debra Kantelis teaches nearly a dozen off-campus art outreach classes for youth each month in the Valdosta community, and will be an instructor for the Turner Center’s 2024 Youth Summer Art Camps. She expressed how early exposure to and involvement in the arts shaped her own life and career.
Kantelis’ projects incorporate multiple mediums of art for series of classes, in which students learn about topics like art history or the seasons. Most recently, classes have focused on creative artwork to enjoy outdoors or use in community gardens, which Kantelis said has given the students a sense of pride and community. In classes, the students also learn to focus on the positives in their artwork – “how creative something is, or the pretty color someone mixed.” Kantelis said “The kids are so talented…they love showing off their work and having their pictures taken with their masterpieces at the end of class!”
Many of the classes Kantelis instructs take place at the Valdosta Housing Authority (VHA). The VHA team said “The Turner Center for the Arts and Kantelis have consistently left a profound impact on the youth within the Valdosta Housing Authority Community Centers. Kantelis’ dedication is invaluable, inspiring youth to explore their inner talents. The art program at the Valdosta Housing Authority has filled the lives of children with color and joy.”
Art has always fascinated Kantelis, who shared that some of her earliest memories of loving art include regular visits to the Detroit Institute of Arts with her dad during her childhood, and having been the only student from her school chosen to participate in an after school program for artistically gifted youth. Kantelis described how this program was held in what was characterized as a rough neighborhood, and how her grandfather took her to class every week, walked her inside, and waited for her – validating the importance or her art education by his diligence. Despite the intimidating area, Kantelis remembers that the classroom was “bright, colorful and beautiful inside,” and said that “The contrast made it seem like I was stepping into a wonderland. I learned to look at my work and use my art supplies differently than in my regular school art classes, and I began to think of myself as an artist. It was all I wanted to be.”
Kantelis attended the College of Creative Studies in Detroit for Advertising Design, and worked in that field as an art director for over a decade. She also considered becoming an art therapist – she completed an internship in the field, and taught art at a group home for troubled teens. Kantelis believes that “Expressing ourselves creatively is healing…it doesn’t matter if it’s painting, writing, music or dance.”
Kantelis recommends enrolling in classes at the Turner Center, saying “The quality and number of classes offered is amazing! No matter what your skill level, there is a place for every person to nurture their interest in the arts. The Turner Center offers quality art classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, glass, music, writing, and more that can fit into almost anyone’s schedule!”
Kantelis also described the variety of artists featured in the Turner Center Galleries – from local artists to artists from other states and even countries. Her students visit the Turner Center Galleries regularly for tours, and Kantelis expressed her hope that the experience will nurture a love for art that will stay with them throughout their lives – just as it did for her when visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts with her dad.
To learn more about classes, youth summer art camps, exhibits, free gallery tours, and many other opportunities to explore the arts at the Turner Center, visit turnercenter.org, or contact the Center at 229.247.2787.
