Students participating in the City of Alpharetta High School Arts Apprenticeship Program, part of the Cultural Services Division, received praise for taking part in the City of Atlanta's newest public art initiative, Atlanta Children’s Memorial Portrait Project,honoring the lives of 29 children murdered between 1979 and 1981.
In 2019, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order to establish the “Mayor’s Advisory Committee: Atlanta Children’s Memorial Taskforce.” The Task Force, comprised of mayoral appointees from the community, was charged with determining an appropriate acknowledgment of the lives cut short during the Atlanta Child Murders.
The Atlanta Children’s Memorial Portrait Project received more than 100 submissions from Atlanta area visual artists. The Alpharetta High School Arts Apprentice students were 1 of 40 chosen to be on display in the Mayor’s Gallery at Atlanta City Hall from January 16 to February 6, 2020.
Student members of the Alpharetta High School Arts Apprenticeship program attended the opening reception at Atlanta City Hall last week along with their instructor and City of Alpharetta Artist-in-Residence, Deanna Sirlin. “It has been my pleasure to work with these young artists who have talent, intelligence and empathy. I have enjoyed the process of mentoring them in my studio and helping them realize and experience what it takes to be an artist. This was a tremendous project to be a part of and we are proud to represent Alpharetta,” said Deanna Sirlin.
Throughout 2020, the Alpharetta High School Arts Apprenticeship Program students will be designing and creating multiple public art pieces for the City of Alpharetta that range in scale and scope with final presentation of works on exhibit in April 2020 at the Alpharetta Art Center.